Stolen Half 2: Inner Street Rat
by TMNTfan1
Summary: (Sequel to Stolen Half) The VKs have been adjusting to life in Auradon. 6 months later, Jay's adjusting to not only being good, but being a prince. Luckily, he seems to have more support than Mal, who snaps under the pressure of being the King's girlfriend. Now, they have to return to the Isle of the Lost to bring her back, but Alia is not letting them go alone.
1. Chapter 1

A beautiful, tan-skinned princess wandered down the hallway of the girls' dormitory of Auradon Prep, her thick, black hair in a simple braid. Her brown eyes scanned the dormitory doors until she found the one she was looking for. This door had a sign on it reading "Evie's 4 Hearts" with a logo of a red heart with a gold crown on it.

Grinning slightly, Alia knocked quickly on the door. Evie's familiar voice called out, "Come in!"

Turning the knob, Alia entered and smiled in greeting at the two girls in the room. Mal and Evie's bedroom was decorated with royal blue curtains, one bed with blue bedding and the other with purple bedding. There was a glass tank on one of the bedside tables with a small lizard in it, which Alia knew was Mal's mother, Maleficent, after being turned into a lizard. There was a rack of dresses in the corner, and papers, sketches, and scraps of fabric laying everywhere. Mal and Evie were standing side-by-side in front of a large flat screen TV on the wall.

Mal had her hair in an elegant bun. While it used to be purple, Mal had somehow recently changed her hair to be a very light blonde with light purple ends. Alia personally thought this made her pale skin seem a bit washed out, but she was still beautiful. She was currently dressed in a beautiful sleeveless yellow ball gown with blue decorations on the chest and skirt. Evie was barefoot and wearing a simple blue dress, red fingerless gloves, and a red tiara-type headband in her loosely curled blue hair.

"Alia!" Evie beamed, hurrying forward and hugging Alia, who returned the hug easily. In the six months since Jay, Carlos, Mal, and Evie came to Auradon from the Isle of the Lost, Alia had become pretty good friends with all of them.

"Hi, Evie! Hi, Mal; your dress is beautiful." Alia told Mal when she pulled away from Evie. Mal smiled slightly, but it didn't seem to reach her green eyes.

"Thanks. How've you been?" Mal asked.

"Pretty good. How was your trip? Oh, how was Agrabah?" she asked quickly when she remember one of the places Mal and her boyfriend, King Ben, had visited on their trip leading up to the Cotillion, which was in a few days.

"It was great." Mal answered with a small smile. "Very hot."

Alia laughed, sitting on the edge of Evie's desk. "Tell me about it. I wish me and Jay could've come." she added with a sigh. "We could've shown you our rooms."

"Yeah, I've been curious about seeing your guys' rooms." Mal agreed before laughing slightly. "Has Jay finished his trophy case yet?"

"Mostly. But he wants to make it bigger." Alia answered with a roll of her eyes. Her twin brother, Jay, had already collected almost half a dozen trophies and even more ribbons and metals in the six months he'd been in Auradon. They were currently in his school dorm room where he could show them off.

Mal and Evie both laughed easily. "Sounds like him." Evie agreed.

"Oh, for dessert, did you try the baklava?" Alia continued to Mal. She'd guessed Mal wouldn't be too fond of some of the traditional Agrabah dishes, so she'd suggested she try a couple dishes that Mal might like.

"Yes, and thank you for that. It was _delicious_!" Mal exclaimed, making Alia laugh.

"Glad to hear it. Anyway, I didn't mean to bother you two." she continued to both Mal and Evie, before turning mostly to the blue-haired girl. "I was wondering if you finished that thing I asked for?"

"Of course I have it." Evie assured her as if the question was ridiculous.

While she crossed the room to the rack of dresses, Mal asked, "What thing?"

"Oh, just a top secret plan me and Lonnie have cooked up." Alia answered with a smirk.

Mal continued looking curious as Evie returned with a blue and yellow outfit on a hanger.

"For the record, I still say this was a waste of my talents. I could've designed something from scratch that would look so much better." Evie told her, laying the outfit out on the desk that Alia had hopped off of so she could take it off the hanger.

"I know, but the point of this plan is to blend in, not stand out." Alia pointed out with a smile.

Evie pulled the shirt off the hanger and held it up for Alia to inspect. It was a hooded, sleeveless, zip-up sweatshirt, mostly blue with yellow down the sides. Auradon Prep's symbol was sewn onto the left side of the chest.

The pants Evie held up next matched perfectly, the same shade of blue with yellow stripes across the legs, and the pant legs ended a few inches above ankle-length.

"You're sure you don't need me to make gloves?" Evie checked as she put the outfit back on the hanger and in a garment bag. "I'm pretty sure they wear gloves."

"Yeah, they do. But I've already got a pair. I… _burrowed_ them from Jay. When he couldn't find them, he got another pair." Alia explained with a smirk.

"Do I even want to know what this plan is?" Mal asked warily, though she was smiling. "What do you need a Swords and Shields uniform for?"

Alia smirked. "Guess you'll have to wait and see." Turning to Evie, she asked, "How much do I owe you?"

"Not even a penny." Evie answered firmly.

"Evie-" Alia protested.

"Nope. The only payment I need, is for you girls to make the team." Evie insisted. "Do that, and we're even."

Alia grinned, saluting her with two fingers from one hand. "Yes, Ma'am."

 **XXX**

 **There's chapter 1 of** _ **Stolen Half 2: Inner Street Rat**_ **. Not a lot happening, but I didn't want to add too much. Let me know what you all think so far and if there's anything in particular you want to see happen in this story.**


	2. Chapter 2

Alia closed her locker, her books for her next two classes under her arm. Catching a glimpse of bright blue and red, she glanced over and saw her twin brother, Jay, and his friends Carlos, Evie, and Mal, two of whom she'd already seen today.

Hurrying down the row of lockers, she caught up to them easily, falling in next to Evie. "Hi guys."

Jay glanced over his shoulder as the others returned the greeting. He had a black beanie covering his long, brown hair, and was wearing a red leather jacket with yellow sleeves. "Hey, what's up?"

"Nothing much." Alia admitted. "Classes have been boring lately, though."

"Aren't they always?" Jay joked.

Alia rolled her eyes. "More so than usual."

The small group left the courtyard and walked up a small flight of stone steps to walk alongside the castle overlooking the gardens and courtyard below. As they passed many of their fellow classmates, several girls greeted Alia's brother.

 _"Hi, Jay!"_

 _"Hi, Jay."_

"Hey." Jay answered.

 _"Hi, Jay!"_

"Hey, what's up?"

Alia rolled her eyes, both at the obviously flirty and desperate attempts the girls were making to get Jay's attention, and the overly-casual flirting responses her brother gave back with a slight wave of his hand.

"Why do you torture them?" Carlos voiced Alia's thoughts, smacking his best friend on the arm. He was wearing a black and white, short sleeved jacket, red skinny jeans, and red fingerless gloves; his black and white hair combed to the side. He had a backpack of school books and was holding Dude's leash in one hand so the little brown mutt could walk at his side. "Just pick someone to take to Cotillion already."

"I'm goin' solo." Jay answered smugly. "That way, I can dance with all of them." Alia shook her head, especially as they passed a girl sitting in the stone windowsill who was practically swooning at the mere sight of Jay.

"Ah, you're the expert." Carlos laughed along with Jay. "Um, Jay…" Carlos suddenly slowed to a stop, turning to look up slightly at his best friend, causing Mal, Evie, and Alia to stop, as well. In the past few months, Carlos had hit a growth spurt so that he was nearly the same height as Jay now. "If you _were…_ gonna ask someone, what's the best way to go?"

Jay sighed. "Listen," he said, placing his hand on Carlos's shoulder, "all you gotta do," he paused, and Carlos nodded, hanging on his every word, "is look like me."

"Oh, ha ha." Carlos scoffed while Jay laughed. Evie chuckled quietly and Alia tried very hard not to laugh and give her brother the satisfaction. But by his smug smirk, he knew she thought it was funny.

"Mal." Jane, the daughter of Fairy Godmother, suddenly walked up with Lonnie, Mulan's daughter, at her side.

"Hey, Jane." Carlos suddenly had all his attention fixed on the girl in front of him.

"Hey." Jane returned the greeting, her bright blue eyes fixed on Carlos with a warm smile.

"I was wondering…uh…" Carlos stuttered. Evie and Alia leaned slightly to the side to watch, both smiling slightly as they waited. Carlos glanced anxiously over at Jay while Jane waited intently, glancing away only once to glance at Lonnie. But she waited for Carlos to speak with eager blue eyes and an excited smile. Alia could tell from her expression she was waiting for Carlos to ask her to the Cotillion. Carlos finally continued, "if you liked the…carrot cake? Last night?"

"I had the pumpkin pie." Jane told him with a smile.

Carlos stuttered, "Oh, cool, um-"

"Smooth." Jay whispered, grabbing both of Carlos's shoulders and practically dragging him toward the nearest flight of stairs. Alia laughed silently, shaking her head before turning to Evie.

"I'm gonna go. See you later." she told the blue-haired girl.

"Bye."

Alia hurried down the short flight of stairs and ran the short distance necessary to catch up to the boys. Jay was laughing hysterically and Carlos's face was bright red as he glared at his best friend.

"Shut up, Jay." Carlos grumbled, shoving his friend's arm.

"I gotta admit, Carlos," Alia said as she walked on his other side, "that was kinda painful to watch."

"Oh, shut up. Both of you can shut up." Carlos groaned, running a hand through his hair.

"Dude, seriously-" Alia cut off when the little dog at her feet looked up at her. "Sorry, wrong dude." she said, leaning down briefly to scratch Dude's ears before straightening back up. "Carlos, she wanted you to ask her. Her face said it all. She was hoping for you to ask her."

Carlos grumbled under his breath, his eyes fixed on his feet. "Alright," he finally spoke clearly, looking over at her, "since Jay's no help in this department, what's your advice? How'd you get asked to Cotillion?"

Alia's mouth fell open silently. Both boys were suddenly watching her intently, though for different reasons. Carlos was waiting eagerly for advice, while Jay's eyes were narrowed with dislike.

Licking her lips, Alia swallowed before asking quietly, "Which time?"

Carlos's eyes stretched wide in surprise while Jay's jaw clenched.

"'Which time'?" Carlos repeated in shock. "How many guys have asked you?"

Alia shrugged awkwardly. "A few. It's not that bad."

"And you said 'no' to all of them?" Carlos checked, still in shock.

Alia nodded. "Well, yeah. One of them I didn't know, I don't even think he was fifteen yet. That would've been weird. Another one, I think he only asked me to get some brownie points with the Swords and Shields Captain." she added, jerking her thumb toward her brother. "And another one I think had a similar reason, or he was just trying to get back at Jay for not making the team."

A couple months back, Jay had tried out for the Swords and Shields team at Auradon Prep since tourney season was over. In order to earn your spot on the team, you have to hold your own in a sword fight against other members of the team, one by one. Jay defeated everyone, including Chad Charming, who was Captain at the time. Rules say that if you beat the Captain, you replace them, hence Jay being the new Captain of the Swords and Shields team.

Jay growled under his breath. "Who was it?" he demanded.

Alia scoffed. "Like I'm telling you that so you can kick him off the team or make him run an extra mile or something. I said no, so what's the problem?"

Jay looked away awkwardly while Carlos was suddenly the one grinning in amusement.

"What?" Alia demanded, feeling out of the loop for once. Jay didn't keep secrets from her. Neither Alia or Jay kept secrets from each other, partially because they'd discovered really early on it's nearly impossible for them to lie to each other. " _What?!_ " Alia pushed, tugging on Carlos's sleeve in the hopes he would spill.

Carlos chuckled. "Jay might have banned our whole team from asking you out."

Jay punched Carlos roughly in the arm, making the younger boy wince and move around Alia so she walked between them. Alia didn't hardly notice, because she was gaping at her twin brother.

"Are you serious?" she demanded, staring at Jay even as he avoided eye contact. "Jay, I can take care of myself, you don't need to protect me, especially not from a bunch of guys. I can judge whether a guy has bad intentions in asking me out. Why the heck would you do that?"

Jay sighed, rolling his eyes slightly. "Because…I've heard how some of those guys talk. Not to say they're horrible guys, but they're not that different from me, even though they pretend to be all proper and princely. Some of them only want to ask certain girls out because of how they look, and you're one of those girls."

Alia nodded. "I'm aware of that, Jason." she told him, using his full name, which she didn't do very often. "That's why I said no to the ones who've asked me. I'm not going to just say yes so I'll have a date. I'd be fine going with just friends, or even by myself. If the right guy asks me, I'll say yes. I don't need you defending my honor. Okay?"

Jay sighed in defeat, his shoulders slouching as he glanced over at her. "Alright, I get it. I'll back off. Mostly."

"Thank you." Alia then turned to Carlos. "That being said, just ask Jane. The worst she can do is say 'no'." At Carlos's panicked expression, Alia hurriedly added, "Which she probably won't, but I'm just saying. Just ask her."

Carlos nodded timidly. "I'll work on it."


	3. Chapter 3

"Alright, you good?" Alia checked.

"I'm good." Lonnie answered after zipping up the hoodie Alia had picked up from Evie.

"And the mask." Alia held up said mask for her best friend. Lonnie gathered her black hair up on top of her head so Alia could put the helmet on over it, effectively hiding Lonnie's long, black hair.

"You're sure you don't want to do it?" Lonnie checked, adjusting the mask atop her head.

"I'm sure. Jay would recognize my moves in a heartbeat." Alia pointed out.

"Good point."

Jay's voice echoed around the amphitheater just then, causing both girls to glance across the room. The Swords and Shields team were moving into formation, standing in two lines facing each other with their swords at the ready. When they pushed their masks down, Alia looked at Lonnie.

"You ready?"

"Ready." Lonnie grinned before pulling her mask down so that it covered her face. Now, she looked just like any of the other Swords and Shields team members.

They moved closer to the center of the room, remaining behind the small walls closing in the ring. They remained hidden from view as they watched the team begin their fight. It was every man for himself with no teams. Everyone was fighting everyone. They were swinging their swords, throwing each other, flipping over the blue and yellow blocks that formed the main circle of the ring.

"Thoughts on who I should go for?" Lonnie whispered quickly.

Alia hummed thoughtfully, her eyes fixed intently on all the fights. "Chad's still touchy about both losing his Captaincy and Audrey dumping him." Sleeping Beauty's daughter, Audrey, had recently dumped her boyfriend of five months before going on a vacation with Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather.

Lonnie made a noise of disagreement. "Nah. That'd be too easy. I'll go for Jay."

Alia smirked. "Go big or go home." she agreed lightly. Jay was, hands down, the best on the team. Hence how he made Captain at tryouts.

Lonnie nodded once before bolting across the room. Alia leaned her elbows on the short wall in front of her to watch intently.

Jay was in close combat with one of his teammates, their swords meeting with loud clangs, when Lonnie flew over one of the blocks so that she landed in the middle of the fight. Jay had to turn to her to avoid her blade hitting his stomach. He blocked her with his own sword, but she just spun around and hit her blade to his butt. Jay spun away from her and threw his helmet off.

The mood in the room changed. It was officially a one-on-one match. The rest of the team moved off to the sides of the room, pulling off their masks to watch uninhibited. The watching crowd both on the main floor and on the balconies above were watching eagerly.

"Get him, Jay!" Carlos called.

Jay and Lonnie parried expertly, and Lonnie even swung a kick toward Jay's face, which he had to lean back to dodge. Lonnie's sword followed her leg and Jay had to bring his sword up to protect his face. Jay counterattacked, which was blocked. They both stabbed their swords at each other, only to mirror each other to dodge. Lonnie swung her sword at Jay's head, so that he ducked and flipped around on one hand until both of them stopped in crouch positions with their swords ready.

With Jay in a more vulnerable position on his knees, Lonnie lunged forward but Jay kicked his feet out at hers in an attempt to trip her up. Lonnie bounced away on her tiptoes before flipping away on her free hand. She moved her sword with her body, instantly bringing it up when she stood upright to block Jay's sword.

"Nice!" Jay exclaimed as he brought his face close to Lonnie's mask. They pushed their blades away, stepping back and pausing for a moment. Like the rest of the crowd, Alia was watching anxiously, her eyes watching every movement like a predator watching her prey.

Jay and Lonnie went back at each other swinging, literally. Their blades clanged together several times in just a couple seconds as they tried to catch each other off guard. Then, somehow, some way that Alia couldn't quite catch, Jay was disarmed. In a blink, Lonnie had two swords in her hands, and Jay had none.

Several people 'oh'ed and gasped.

"Jay, what happened?"

"Finish him!"

Keeping one sword behind her, Lonnie swung the other sword at Jay's chest. Jay stepped to the side to dodge it. Lonnie then whisked the sword toward his back, but he turned to dodge it again, keeping his eye on the blade.

Lonnie swung the sword again while Jay backed away to put space between them. Then, he kicked his foot out, his shoe hitting the hilt of Lonnie's sword with enough force that it flew from her hand. Jay caught it by the handle with ease and rested the blade against his shoulder, an impressed expression easily readable on his face.

Seeing that the match was over, Lonnie took off her mask, flipping her long, black hair with a flourish as she revealed her face. Several jaws dropped, and the cheerleaders up in the balcony applauded and cheered.

Jay grinned with a slight nod of his head. "Not bad."

"You should put me on the team." Lonnie suggested, putting her face mask under her arm.

Jay actually looked like he was about to say yes as he took a few steps closer to Lonnie.

"Hey, wh-what?" Chad called, hurrying over to Jay's side, causing Jay to look at him in surprise.

Alia could easily guess where this was going, so with a roll of her eyes, she jumped the short wall in front of her and crossed the room to stand next to Lonnie across from the two boys.

"No, no, no, we'll be the laughing stock of the league." Chad continued. Jay watched him with a confused expression, twirling his sword so that he could hold it by his side. "And what's going to happen next," Chad continued, looking around for support, "we'll have girls playing tourney? Come on, guys."

"So?" Jay asked, clearly not getting what the problem was. He glanced at the girls, briefly meeting Alia's eyes before he turned back to Chad, who looked completely bewildered.

Chad glanced between the girls and Jay. " _'So_?'" he repeated incredulously. "So, have you not read the rule book?" he demanded, clumsily shifting his mask into his other arm so he could pull a wrinkled paper booklet from his pocket. He frantically opened it and flipped through some pages as he continued, "Section two, paragraph three, eleven dash four."

Jay was looking down at the open booklet awkwardly, glancing at the girls before Chad practically shoved it in his face.

"'A team will be comprised of a Captain and eight _men_.'" Chad read, shoving the open book in Lonnie's face. "Hmm." Chad held the rule book up as if to show it to the whole room. "Read the rule book."

"Yeah, but you're down two men." Lonnie pointed out. "Since Ben had to leave to do all that King stuff, and-"

"Exactly." Chad cut her off, holding his arm out in front of Jay as if he were still Captain. Alia's eyes fixed on her twin. For once, Jay looked like he didn't know what to do. "We're down two _men_."

"Okay." Alia snapped, her eyes narrowing on Chad. "So let's just ignore the fact that the term 'man' can be defined as a human being in general. It doesn't just have to refer to guys."

"Yeah, well, in this case, it does." Chad argued snobbishly.

"How about I take you in a match right now?" Alia suggested heatedly, her arms crossed tightly over her chest as she took a threatening step forward. "See just how much I can embarrass you in front of your friends."

Chad scoffed. "As if you could take me on."

"Jay." Lonnie pleaded.

"I'm sorry." Jay told them guiltily. "Coach trusts me. I'm not going to stay Captain if I just throw out the rule book."

Alia narrowed her eyes slightly at him.

"If my _mother_ thought that way," Lonnie started angrily, "she would've lost the war."

Chad scoffed, looking at Jay for support, who just looked uncomfortable and guilty.

" _Okay_." Chad mocked.

Lonnie turned and walked past Alia, who remained where she was for a moment, her eyes fixed on her brother. Jay opened his mouth to say something, but Alia just shook her head and followed her best friend out of the room, frustration bubbling up in her stomach.

"That was so _stupid_!" Lonnie exclaimed, throwing her sword onto the ground in the small hallway outside the amphitheater. The metal blade clanged loudly on the marble floor. Alia sighed, approaching Lonnie's gym bag and passing it to her.

"We can come up with a plan B." Alia assured her. "Maybe you should've gone for the win. If you'd beaten Jay in that match, you'd have beat the Captain. If you're following the _'rule book'_ ," she added mockingly, "the person who beats the Captain becomes the new Captain."

"Wow." a familiar, amused voice spoke from behind them. "Rooting for your brother's defeat. Have you no loyalty?"

Alia and Lonnie rolled their eyes as they turned around, coming face-to-face with Li Shang Jr., Lonnie's older brother, affectionately known as Li'l Shang. He was wearing his blue and yellow shirt that he wore to show his position as Swords and Shields Assistant Coach. The fabric of the shirt strained against his chest and arms, which were buff from years of working out under his army general father, Li Shang. His black hair swept over his eyebrows as he grinned between the two girls.

"Of course I have loyalty. I'm proud of Jay making Captain, he deserves to be Captain." Alia assured him. "But _we_ deserve a chance to earn a spot on the Swords and Shields team." she added, gesturing between Lonnie and herself.

"I'm not saying I disagree." Shang pointed out. "I know your skill better than most people. I know you two could take down nearly everyone on our team. But you know how important rules are in Auradon, and picking fights with people like Chad Charming aren't going to get you anywhere."

"What about Mom?" Lonnie pointed out angrily. "She broke the rules when she was our age. She-"

"I know what Mom did." Shang interrupted evenly, nodding his head in agreement. "But you have to remember, Lonnie, that Mom didn't do that for herself. She did it for Granddad, who would never have survived going into the war. These situations are very different."

Lonnie glared down at her feet, knowing her brother had a point.

"That being said," Shang continued, causing both girls to look up at him, "I may not be able to change the rules, or help you break them, but I do have some pull in a few places. I'll talk to Coach; after what his sister had to go through, he might be willing to listen." Hamish, the Swords and Shields Coach, was the younger brother of Queen Merida. "And I'll see if I can talk to Fairy Godmother, Ben, and maybe a few other people. I make no promises, but I'll see what I can do. Okay?"

Alia and Lonnie exchanged smiles before looking back up at him. "Okay." they both agreed.


	4. Chapter 4

Alia stared down at her homework, unable to focus on the numbers and symbols that were starting to blur together. Sighing, she straightened her back and pulled her thick, black hair back into a bun, piling it atop her head and fastening it in place with the ponytail on her wrist. Groaning, she hunched over again, her elbows on her knees and her forehead in one hand. After an hour straight of homework, her brain was aching.

A quick series of knocks on the door pulled Alia's already-blurred attention to the other side of the room. Lonnie, sitting on her bed next to Alia's, also looked up curiously. Sighing, Alia scooted off the edge of her bed, setting her textbook on the mattress as she crossed the room.

Opening the door, she sighed at the sight of her twin brother looking down at her. He smiled guiltily at her.

"Hi, Jay. What's up?" she asked quietly, crossing her arms over her purple tie-dye t-shirt she'd thrown on.

He held out a small bag of chocolates. Alia smiled slightly before taking the bag from him. A peace offering.

"I'm really sorry." he told her earnestly. "I want you and Lonnie on the team, but…you know I can't. I have to follow the rules. You understand that, right?"

Alia sighed again, this time in defeat; her eyes softening as she looked up at his conflicted expression. She knew, better than most, how hard Jay had been finding life in Auradon as the son of royalty rather than a villain.

After the announcement to all of Auradon that Jay was Aladdin and Jasmine's son, there were many conflicted opinions. A lot of people supported him, some only to his face, unfortunately. There were some who knew him, like his tourney teammates, who weren't sure how to act around him at first, as if he would suddenly be a completely different person now that he was the son of royalty instead of a villain. And of course there were people like Chad Charming and Audrey who refused to believe the truth for the longest time and badmouthed Jay for a while. They eventually came to terms with the fact that Jay was now on the same level as them, given they were all royalty, but they were far from best friends.

Jay had been taking extra lessons, just as Alia had been taking her whole life, to learn how to be a prince and someday rule a kingdom. He was still Jay, he still acted like himself, but he still struggled to push down certain characteristics that had been ingrained in him from life on the Isle of the Lost. She could also see why this particular issue was even more of a struggle for him. He knew first hand how good Lonnie, and Alia, were with swords. Alia had beaten him in a match on more than one occasion, and Lonnie almost beat him in front of the team. She could tell that he thought the rule banning girls on the team was stupid, because they were just as good as the guys. But it was still a rule, and living in Auradon meant following the rules.

"I understand, Jay." Alia admitted. "And I'm sorry we put you in that position."

"Don't be." Jay shrugged. "But why didn't you tell me before? I had no idea girls were banned from the team. Chad completely threw me for a loop with that stupid rulebook."

Alia shrugged. "Honestly, for a while it just never came up. And I think whenever I almost told you, something or someone would interrupt. I didn't intend to keep you in the dark."

Jay sighed. "Oh well. Maybe…I don't know what I could do. I can't break the rules, but I can't really change them either…"

"Don't worry about it, Jay." Alia suggested quietly. "Li'l Shang said he's going to see what he can do. He has a bit more influence than you do. He's going to talk to Coach Hamish. He watched his sister Merida go through similar stuff when they were growing up. And he's going to see if he can talk to a few other people, too."

Alia briefly thought to herself that, while in Lonnie's family's story, Mulan had broken the rules to do what was right, it was different in Alia's family's story. Aladdin and Jasmine would never have been able to be together if it hadn't been for her grandfather, Jasmine's dad, changing the laws so that Jasmine, and everyone after, could marry whomever she wanted. They basically left it to someone higher-up to change the rules instead of breaking them.

"Great." Jay grinned. "Well, keep me in the loop. I'd love having you two on the team, and I know at least a couple of the guys feel the same. Lin was saying he's seen how good Lonnie is. Apparently they grew up together; his dad is an old army friend of Lonnie's parents."

Alia nodded. "Well, I'll be sure to tell you if anything changes. And thanks for the chocolate." she added playfully.

 **XXX**

 **Sorry this is so short and mostly just a filler chapter, but it did have some good insight into how Jay's handling being a prince, so that's something.**


	5. Chapter 5

Alia hurried down the hallway of the boys dorms, dodging around a couple people talking in the halls. She reached her brother's dormitory door and knocked quickly before pushing the door open and entering the room.

"Hey, Carlos, can you-" she paused in asking Carlos for help with her homework.

In Jay and Carlos's room, both boys were rushing to cover something up on their round table in the middle of the room, hiding it behind Carlos's large 3D printer. They then tried, and failed, to lean casually against the table as they grinned at her.

"Hey, 'Lia. What's up?" Jay asked casually.

Alia glanced between the pair warily, taking in their fidgeting. Carlos was dressed in a white t-shirt with rips that showed red fabric underneath and red and black shorts. Jay was dressed in red and blue cargo pants and a yellow and blue tank top with, shockingly, Jafar's cobra symbol on the front.

"I was going to ask Carlos if he could help me with some homework, but you guys seem…busy." Alia answered suspiciously.

"Um, yeah," Carlos glanced over at Jay, running his fingers through his white hair, "we're kinda in the middle of something, but I can help you sometime over the weekend."

"Okay." Alia agreed before crossing her arms over her chest. "So, what're you guys up to?"

Both boys opened and closed their mouths a few times, but no sounds came out. They exchanged a glance.

"Um, yeah, Carlos, what're we doing?" Jay asked his best friend.

Carlos swallowed slightly. "Uh, w-we're…going on a trip!" he suddenly exclaimed, as if the thought just occurred to him, throwing his hand out, which was covered in a black fingerless glove. "Yeah, a trip. We just figured we'd get away for the weekend."

Alia nodded slowly, not buying it for a second. Her brown eyes fixed on her brother, who was looking at her shoulder to subtly avoid her eyes.

"So, Jay, where're you going?" she asked.

Carlos opened his mouth, but Alia held her hand up, palm facing the younger teen. "I asked Jay. I want to hear it from him."

Jay's eyes closed. He knew he was caught. It was impossible to lie to her. Sighing in defeat, he looked over and met her eyes.

"We're going back to the Isle." he admitted. Alia's eyes widened, but before she could assume anything, he added, "Mal had a fight with Ben and went back to the Isle. Ben wants to go over there and apologize, but we can't let him go alone. So me, Carlos, and Evie are going with him to try and bring Mal back."

Alia nodded in understanding, her brows furrowing worriedly.

"We should be back within a couple days." Carlos added, more at ease now that he wasn't lying. He didn't like falling back on his villain roots. "Mal probably went to our old hideout, so it shouldn't be too hard to find her. Convincing her to come back, that'll be the tricky part."

Alia nodded again, but her brows were no longer scrunched together, and a determined glint had lit her brown eyes. Jay knew what she was going to say a moment before she said it.

"Okay. I'm coming with you."

"No. No you are not." Jay argued instantly.

"Jay, come on-"

"No, Alia." Jay interrupted her. "I know you hate me protecting you, but I'm not letting you come with us to the Isle of the Lost. Do you have _any_ idea how dangerous it is over there?"

"Of course I d-"

"No, you don't."

"Quit interrupting me!" Alia snapped.

"Alia, a lot of bad people over there hate us right now. People who would love to hurt us, or worse. Keeping Ben out of danger over there is going to be hard enough. I won't be able to focus if I have to protect you, too."

"In case you've forgotten," Alia argued, trying to remain calm, "I'm not some defenseless damsel in distress. I can defend myself as well as anyone."

"Yes, I _know_ that." Jay told her, also trying to stay calm. "But there are a lot of cruel, evil people over there who would _love_ the chance to get their hands on you. What if we run into Jafar?"

Alia faltered slightly, and Jay took advantage of that.

"Jafar kidnapped me as a baby to get back at Dad. What do you think he'd do to you if he got the chance?"

Alia took a deep breath. "There's safety in numbers, right?" she asked calmly. Jay opened his mouth, but she continued, "You can protect me, but I can protect you just as well. That's the point of friends and family, isn't it? I'm not going to be as naive and defenseless as Ben. Please, Jay. I want to help. I can help you guys."

Jay looked at Carlos. "Help me out here."

Carlos glanced between them for a moment. "Uh, I'd rather not get punched."

"She's not going to punch you!" Jay argued, confused.

"I know she's not." Carlos agreed, taking a step back. "But you might."

"What?" Jay asked, shocked.

Carlos glanced nervously between them. "I kinda agree with Alia." he admitted.

" _What?!_ " Jay repeated, just a bit louder in surprise.

"Jay, you've bragged about her skills. Both in sword fighting and hand-to-hand combat. And she's right, she's not like most princesses around here. She's tough; she's kinda like you, to be honest. And she's right, it's not like you're the only one who's going to have to protect her. We'll all have each other's backs. Her coming along wouldn't be a bad idea."

Jay sighed heavily, running both hands through his long hair until they rested on the back of his neck, his elbows sticking out in front of him. He stared at Alia contemplatively for a few moments.

"Dad's going to kill me." he groaned, closing his eyes in defeat.

"He'll be more likely to kill me, because he knows I don't take orders from you." Alia joked lightly. Jay grinned slightly.

"Okay, you can come, but there are going to be rules." Jay stated sternly.

"What kind of rules?" Alia asked in confusion.

"For one, you stay with us at all times. Do not leave my sight, because all it takes is a second for something bad to happen." Alia nodded in agreement. "You do whatever I say, without question-don't roll your eyes at me." he ordered when Alia did just that. "I'm serious, Alia. If I tell you to do something, or not to do something, you listen. _Please_."

Seeing how hard of a time Jay was having, Alia sighed in defeat. "Okay." she agreed quietly, nodding her head in agreement.

"Thank you." Jay sighed in relief. "And one more thing." Alia nodded, telling him to continue. "We're going to have to have Evie get you something else to wear."

Alia looked down at her t-shirt and denim shorts and silently agreed. She would stand out wearing this outfit on the Isle of the Lost.

Carlos stayed in the boys' dorm to work on something while Jay and Alia hurried over to Evie and Mal's dorm. Jay knocked quickly, walking in after Evie called for them to 'come in'.

Jay hurried in first, and Alia followed, closing the door behind her. The room was just as chaotic and covered in designs and fabric as the last time she'd entered the room just the day before. But Evie was at her sewing machine on one of the tables, working furiously on something. She glanced up at them, but remained focused on her work.

"What is it?" she asked, her brows pinched together slightly in either concentration or worry, or both.

"Alia's coming with us." Jay admitted in a resigned tone. Evie's head snapped up, her work freezing as the machine went silent. Her dark brown eyes flicked from Jay to Alia. Alia met her eyes determinedly, hoping the blue-haired girl wouldn't refuse or try to convince Jay to change his mind again.

"Okay." Evie finally said, glancing over Alia's outfit. "But you're not going dressed like that. I'm almost done with Ben's outfit. I won't have time to make a new one for you, since we want to leave in a few hours, but I can throw a few things together. Luckily, I still have your measurements from your Cotillion dress." As Evie said all this, she went back to sewing whatever part of Ben's outfit she was working on.

"Great, thanks." Alia told her with a smile. "Is there anything I can do to help or prepare for this?"

"Hmm. Not really. We want to leave in a few hours. So, just meet me back in here in two hours so I can help you get ready." Evie decided.

"Sure thing. Thanks, E."


	6. Chapter 6

Alia returned to Evie's room in just under two hours later, like Evie asked. The second Alia entered the room, Evie shoved a small pile of clothes into her arms and all but threw her into the adjoined bathroom, ordering her to change.

Knowing that time was short, Alia changed into enough of her new outfit that she was decent to leave the small bathroom. She changed out of her own t-shirt and jeans and pulled on the ones Evie gave her. Her shirt was a simple, fitted, white short-sleeved shirt with a black and white design that looked like a growling tiger peaking out of a few jagged rips. Her pants were black, skinny cargo pants with several pockets down the legs.

With her shirt and pants on, Alia left the bathroom to finish getting dressed in Evie's room in case anyone needed the bathroom.

"Do they fit okay?" Evie asked, putting on a blue leather jacket that almost looked like a short dress. She was also wearing blue and black leather tights and red fingerless gloves. Her blue hair was loosely curled with a braid that worked as a headband over her head.

"Yeah, they fit perfectly." Alia assured her, slipping on her jacket. It was a zip up leather jacket; the body of the jacket was dark purple, the hem at the bottom decorated with jagged rips. The sleeves were a lighter purple, almost a pinkish-purple color, one sleeve had a black, fingerless glove with gold studs attached to the end so that Alia had to slip her fingers into it when she put her arm through the sleeve. There were gold-colored flame designs on the left part of her chest, and across the back of the jacket.

"I wasn't sure what you'd prefer for shoes." Evie said, suddenly approaching Alia and looking her over, tugging on the jacket as she moved around her critically. "How do you feel about heels?"

"Um, well, I can wear heels, but I'd prefer not to considering whatever we might end up having to do on the Isle." Alia admitted.

Evie nodded. "Okay." Moving back around Alia, Evie hurried over to her closet and shifted through the bottom before standing straight and holding up a pair of black combat boots with gold studs. "These?"

"Perfect." Alia grinned. Evie passed them to her, and Alia took a seat on the edge of Mal's bed to pull the shoes on and lace them up.

There was a quick knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Evie called, freezing for a moment.

"It's me." Ben's voice called through the door.

Evie rushed to the door and yanked it open, pulling Ben inside. "I've set aside your outfit. It's all right here." She grabbed a small pile of folded clothes and shoes off a table and passed them to him. "Get changed in my bathroom."

Ben stared at Alia for a moment, seemingly unaware he was being pushed toward the bathroom. "Wait, why-"

"She's coming with us." Evie cut him off, shoving him into the bathroom and shutting the door.

"This jacket almost looks familiar." Alia suddenly stated, tugging on the zipper-edged front of her jacket as she looked down at it.

"It's one of Mal's old ones that she's not fond of." Evie answered. "I didn't have much time, so I just made some changes to it."

"Well, it's awesome." Alia assured her, her brows lifted as she stood and looked down at herself. "If she doesn't want it anymore, I might ask if I can keep it."

Evie giggled, shaking her head. "You're missing a glove." she told her, picking up the single glove Alia had left on the desk while she'd been pulling on her jacket and shoes. Evie tossed it to Alia, who caught it and pulled it on her bare hand. This glove was a bit different from the one attached to the other sleeve, but similar enough to match. The glove attached to the sleeve only had two holes, one for the thumb and one for the rest of her fingers. The other glove had five holes, one for each finger, and was decorated with gold studs.

Standing from the bed, Alia held her arms out and looked down at herself. "Well, how do I look? Isle-ready?"

Evie laughed quietly, but still looked Alia over critically. "Zip up your jacket." she ordered simply.

Alia did as she was told just as the door opened. Jay and Carlos sauntered in, both dressed in Isle-type clothes. Jay was dressed in a thick, red, blue, and gold leather jacket with matching red and blue cargo pants, black boots, black fingerless gloves, and a black beanie. Carlos was wearing a red, black, and white leather jacket, black fingerless gloves like Jay, black and red long shorts-or were they short pants?-and red tennis shoes.

When the two boys entered the room and caught sight of Alia, they both paused, their eyes wide as they looked her over.

Alia held her arms out to show off her outfit. "So? What do you think?"

Jay blinked a few times, still looking at her clothes.

"Unzip your jacket."

"What? Why?"

"I just told her to zip it up." Evie told him.

"Yeah, but having it zipped up is just going to make guys look at her." Jay explained, his voice a low grumble.

Alia rolled her eyes, instantly getting what his problem was. With the jacket zipped up, it hugged her curves and gave her a bit of an hourglass figure. If she unzipped the jacket, it wouldn't be quite as tight.

"You're ridiculous." Alia told her brother, choosing to ignore his "advice" and turn to Evie. "Do _you_ have any other suggestions on my outfit, or am I good?"

Evie again looked her over. "I almost wish we could do something with your hair, but we really should get going-"

"Wait." Jay suddenly interrupted. Alia, Evie, and Carlos turned to look at him curiously. He was looking at the top of Alia's head thoughtfully. Then, he unzipped one of the many pockets on his pants and pulled out a lump of black fabric. Crossing the room, he used both hands to pull the black beanie over the top of her head, where her thick, black hair hung down in natural waves. He shifted it around until it was straight on her hair, the edge just covering her hairline, sitting about an inch above her eyebrows.

"There." he nodded once in satisfaction, stepping back with a grin. Alia rolled her eyes but was also grinning.

"Thanks." Turning to Evie, she asked, "Well?"

Evie nodded with a smile. "You look perfect."

The bathroom door opened just then and Ben stepped out and into the bedroom. Alia's first thought was that he looked like a male version of Evie. A black beanie was covering most of his hair, and he was wearing a dark blue leather jacket with gold designs over a gold shirt. He was wearing dark blue and black cargo pants, and Alia almost laughed when she noticed his belt buckle was the Beast's head. Finally, on his feet was a pair of dark blue and gold shoes.

"Good. Perfect timing." Evie clapped, grabbing her heart-shaped purse. "Let's go."

The group left the room, hurrying carefully and quietly down the hallway. It wasn't quite curfew, but most people would've retired to their rooms by now. They went out one of the side doors of the castle, stepping out into the night. Jay lead the way down a few flights of stairs outside.

"Jay. Keys. Remote" Ben called, tossing the keys to a limo, and then remote to said limo, down for Jay to catch.

"Wait." Evie ordered, stopping just as everyone reached the bottom of the stairs. "Something's wrong."

Jay and Alia, who'd been in the front, snapped their heads around to stare at her, their bodies frozen. Carlos, at the back, was staring at Evie with a near-panicked expression, as well.

Then, Evie stepped up to Ben, who'd turned back to look at her like the others, and she pulled his beanie down a couple inches, making sure it was straight. Realizing what she was doing, Ben gave her a look that said 'Seriously?'.

"There." Evie was clearly satisfied.

"Shotgun!"

Everyone spun around at the unfamiliar voice, and Alia's eyes scanned down the short flight of stairs in search of the intruder, but the only 'person' she could see was…Dude?

"No, Dude! Stay!" Carlos commanded. "The Isle is way too dangerous."

The little brown mutt in a red, black, and white vest groaned in disappointment, looking down at the ground.

Evie and Alia gaped at the talking dog. A dog Alia had known for a few years, who had _never_ spoken a single word before. Ben and Jay were also staring at the little mutt.

"Did he just…?"

"Talk?" Carlos interrupted Jay, sounding a little bit frazzled. "Yeah, I know. I'll tell ya later."

Jay nodded, deciding it was best to get moving. Alia and Evie, still gaping, exchanged a glance before following Jay and Carlos to the limo parked nearby. Ben followed last. Jay and Carlos got in the front, with Jay in the driver's seat, and Evie, Alia, and Ben got in the back.

"Okay. Once we cross the bridge, park under the pier in the old garage." Evie ordered as they shut the doors. "Got it?"

"Got it." Jay agreed, pulling away.

It would be a little while before they reached the shoreline of Auradon where they could drive over the magical bridge, so Alia turned around and reached through the small partition separating the back from the front of the limo and poked the back of Carlos's head.

"So, while we have nothing better to do while Jay drives, how the _heck_ is your dog talking?" she demanded, nearly dying of curiosity.

Carlos sighed. "Well, I asked Mal to make me this…potion. A truth potion. She put it in a gummy for me to eat."

"Whoa-wait. Why did you need a truth potion in the first place?" Jay demanded, glancing over at Carlos before fixing his eyes back on the road.

"Because-because I just did!" Carlos answered defensively. "But that's not the important part. Dude is talking because he ate the gummy before I could, which somehow made him talk! Okay?"

Alia's brows rose up under her beanie. _'Someone's defensive,'_ she thought.

After a few moments, Jay glanced through the rearview mirror. "Hey, 'Lia?"

"Yeah?" Alia once again looked through the partition toward her brother.

"Can you do me a favor?"

"Yeah, sure." Alia agreed easily, looking around the limo to see if there was something he needed her to grab.

"Remember how you agreed to do everything I say without question?"

Alia's brows furrowed suspiciously. "Yeaaaahh. But that doesn't start until we get on the Isle. And don't get used to it."

Carlos snorted back a laugh while Jay tried, and failed, to smother his own grin.

"Shut up. Aside from staying at my side the whole time we're on the Isle, I want you to try and do something while we're there." Jay told her.

 _'What could he possibly want me to_ do _on the Isle?'_ she wondered. "And that would be?"

Jay looked up and met her eyes through the rearview mirror. "Embrace your inner street rat."

Alia grinned, matching the one looking back at her through the mirror. "I can do that."

The rest of the ride was mostly silent as they drove through a small section of Auradon until they reached the water. Then, with a press of a button on the limo's remote a huge, glittering, gold bridge that looked like it was made of pixie dust stretched across the huge expanse of water until it reached the Isle, and they drove across said bridge until they reached the Isle of the Lost.

Alia turned and stared out the limo's window as they drove through part of the Isle. Even though the night made it dark, she suspected that wasn't the cause of the dreary, foggy atmosphere on the island. The buildings were rundown and covered in graffiti, and the ground and streets were covered in trash and puddles of muck. A weird fog or mist floated and swirled across the ground and well above Alia's head.

They pulled under a pier and Jay parked the limo before everyone got out, shutting their doors behind them.

"Ben, help me with the tarp." Carlos ordered, hurrying over to where a pile of worn, tattered tarps sat in a pile against a building. "Jay." Carlos called after they pulled a tarp back toward the limo.

"Yeah." Jay held his hands up for when Carlos tossed one side of the tarp over the limo. Jay caught it, and Alia and Evie moved to his side to help him pull it over the limo to hide it.

Evie stood by Alia and Jay, scanning her surroundings almost fearfully, her body tensed as if she were ready to flee while they waited for Ben and Carlos to get the second tarp. The first one only covered the front half of the limo.

"I got it." Jay told Evie, smoothing out the end of the tarp.

"It's really weird being back here." Evie whispered, glancing at Jay.

Jay took one look at Evie's expression, glanced around, and looked back at her reassuringly. "We'll get in and get out." he assured her.

Evie held his gaze for a moment before nodding, pushing her fear down. Alia glanced between them, warmed by their relationship. It was obvious she wasn't Jay's only "sister".

"Jay." Carlos called again. Jay, Alia, and Evie caught the tarp Carlos tossed them, and they all pulled the tarp over the rest of the limo.

"Hey, what's in here?" Ben's voice was echoey when he called out the question. Everyone looked up from where they were straightening out the tarp.

"Ben." Carlos called, being the first the reach the young king and pull him away from the large, metal tunnel he'd been peaking into. Jay, Alia, and Evie hurried to reach them.

"You don't want to know." Jay told him, which only made Alia more curious about the mysterious tunnel. But the stench quelled her curiosity.

"Hey, guys." Carlos told them, pulling their attention back to him and away from the tunnel. "Keep it chill, alright?"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Last thing we need is our parents figuring out we're here."

At Carlos's words, Alia instinctively glanced up at Jay. His eyes glanced down before looking over at Alia, meeting her eyes. He steeled his expression. She knew what was going through his mind. He was thinking about Jafar. Jafar, who'd raised him as his son, but who never loved him and wasn't his real father. Jafar, who would love to get his hands on Alia. Jafar, who Jay would make sure to defend his sister, his _family_ , from.

Jay looked back at Carlos and nodded once. Carlos turned and lead the way toward an alley. Jay followed, and Alia kept close to his side. Ben and Evie followed behind them.

When they entered the small alley, Alia had to force herself not to stare around at anyone.

It was filled with small, hand-made shelters, mostly made up of scrap wood, cardboard boxes, and worn, tattered fabrics. People, _children_ , were walking around in layers of ripped, mismatched clothes; old coats, shawls, hats…

"Hey!"

Alia stopped and looked back at the sound of Evie's voice, tense and angry. The boys all turned and looked, too. Evie was between two little boys, who couldn't be any older than eight years old. She was struggling with the two boys, holding one of their wrists in each hand.

Carlos took a step toward her, but paused.

"Hey! _Stop_!" Evie exclaimed.

The three paused in their struggle, and Evie looked back and forth between the two young boys, who stared up at her with sad, dirty faces.

Finally, she looked down at one of the boys and said, "Just take it."

The boy looked down at what was in his hand, Evie's wallet it looked like, and smiled up at her.

"Go on." Evie told them, causing the two boys to take off running down the alley, laughing at what they'd grabbed.

Alia stared with her mouth slightly open, saddened by the scene, as Evie slowly turned back to look at them with a lost expression. When her eyes landed on Alia and the boys, she sighed.

"Ben." she mumbled, hurrying toward them. Alia looked back over her shoulder, just realizing Ben was no longer with them. Evie swept past her, and Alia, Jay, and Carlos hurried after her down the alley.

They reached a section of what looked like part of a market. There were stands selling food between two buildings, and a worn carpet sitting on the wet ground. A man in a worn, brown coat growled at Ben just as they arrived.

"Hey." Carlos got between Ben and the stranger while Evie dragged Ben back.

"Ben, stop. Just stop." Evie ordered.

Jay dragged Carlos away from the guy, sizing him up. The guy instantly backed down at the sight of a large group. Alia watched all of this, trying to push down her nerves as she stayed close to Evie and Ben.

"Why?" Ben asked Evie.

"This isn't a parade. It's the _Isle_." Evie told him as if he were stupid.

"Keep your hands in your pockets, unless you're stealing." Jay ordered, glancing between Ben and Alia.

"You either slouch or strut." Carlos added.

"And never, ever smile." Evie added sternly, glancing between Ben and Alia.

"Okay, thank-"

"No." Evie held up a finger to interrupt Ben. "No 'thank you's, and drop the 'please', too. Just… _chill_."

 **XXX**

 **I'm trying to decide if I should put** _ **Chillin' Like a Villain**_ **in here or just skip it. Should I just put it as the next chapter and you can skip it if you want? I won't really change much of the scene, just put Alia in it.**

 **Anyway, let me know what you all thought of this chapter!**


	7. Bonus: Chillin' Like a Villain

**Evie:**

" **Let me tell you something you can really trust  
Everybody's got a wicked side."**

Evie rested her elbow on Ben's shoulder before moving behind him to his other side.

 **Evie:  
"I know you think that you can never be like us  
Watch and learn so you can get it right."**

Stepping back, Evie stood with Carlos and Jay, leaving Ben and Alia watching them, both curious and anxious. One by one, Evie, Carlos, and Jay struck a pose, nodding at the two Auradon kids. Evie then pointed two fingers at Ben's eyes before pointing them back at her own eyes. She then repeated this move to Alia.

Then, with Carlos and Jay on either side of Evie, the three moved into formation on a ragged old rug, dancing with moves that illustrated the following lyrics.

 **All:**

" **You need to drag your feet  
You need to nod your head  
You need to lean back  
Slip through the cracks."**

Alia watched their moves closely, trying to memorize what they were telling her to do. Meanwhile, Ben leaned back with his arms crossed, accidentally leaning back on the guy who'd given them trouble earlier. Alia quickly pulled him away from the guy when she noticed.

 **All:  
"You need to not care."**

Alia pulled Ben among the others, but Ben was still staring at the guy he'd leaned against. Carlos noticed this and moved by Ben's face to distract him.

 **Carlos:  
"Uh, you need to not stare."**

While Ben was focusing on Carlos, Jay easily slipped his wallet from his back pocket, waving it smugly. Alia tried not to laugh, but then she felt the familiar sensation of someone trying to slip her phone from her jacket pocket. Her hand shot down and grabbed a wrist, her eyes narrowing at Carlos's. He grinned, applauding her slowly when he pulled his hands away.

 **All:  
"You need a whole lot of help."**

 **Evie:  
(You need to not be yourself)**

Evie pointed past Ben at Jay, causing the young King to look over. He snatched his wallet back from Jay when he realized what'd happened.

When Evie started singing again, Jay and Carlos began dancing on either side of Alia and Ben, who were focusing on Evie and what she was saying.

 **Evie:**

" **You wanna be cool?  
Let me show you how  
You don't break the rules  
I can show you how  
And once you catch this feeling."**

Evie turned so her back was to the others, and Jay and Carlos began copying her dance moves.

 **All:  
"Yeah once you catch this feeling  
You'll be chillin', chillin', oh."**

Alia tried copying their dance, focusing on Evie's moves while still making sure no one was trying to steal her things. She didn't notice Ben try, and fail, to steal something from Carlos.

 **All:  
Chillin' like a villain (chillin')  
Chillin' like a villain (chillin')**

Alia copied their dance moves, and was doing fairly well, until she glanced at Ben. He was doing something completely offbeat from the others to the point it distracted her. When Evie, Jay, and Carlos called 'Hey', it made Alia and Ben jump and look at them again.

 **All:  
Chillin' like a villain (hey)  
Chillin' like a, chillin' like a (hey), villain."**

Evie lead the group around the corner into another alley, which had a small green-painted wooden fence. Alia barely spared a glance at a random guy in a trench coat, but Ben went right to the guy like a moth to a flame. When the guy opened his coat, Ben went to grab something from inside the coat. Alia, Carlos, and Jay stared at him in disbelief while Evie grabbed him and dragged him away, scaring the guy off with a glare.

 **Evie:**

" **You draw attention when you act like that  
Let us teach you how to disappear  
You look like you would lose a fight to an alley cat  
Gotta be wrong to get it right 'round here**

Evie, Carlos, and Jay hopped up onto the fence, balancing effortlessly in low crouches. Ben watched Evie while she continued to sing, while Alia turned so she could watch all three of them, in case they tried to pull something. When they all three suddenly stood up, making them tower over Ben and Alia, the young king suddenly seemed to decide to keep an eye on all three of them, since Carlos had gone almost unnoticed behind him.

 **All:**

 **You need to watch your back  
You need to creep around  
You need to slide real smooth  
Don't make a sound  
**

The three on the fence began mimicking their lyrics again, glancing over their shoulders before tiptoeing across the fence post, and then sliding across the beam the way they'd come. Ben was trying to be creative in copying them. Alia, on the other hand, copied them carefully. She tiptoed in step with them, but didn't slide back. Ben, on the other hand, slid right into a metal pail that'd been sitting on the ground. Alia winced at the loud bang it made on the cement ground. Carlos, Evie, and Jay instantly jumped down to the ground, putting their fingers to their lips as they sang.

 **All:**

 **And if you want it, take it  
And if you can't take it, break it  
And if you care about your health**

They then slipped through the fence between the top and bottom beam. On the second line, they mimicking breaking something, Evie bringing her knee up, and Jay and Carlos slamming their knees to the ground. Alia hesitantly mimicked Evie. Ben spun around and stumbled, which caused him to fall to the ground. Carlos helped him, but none of the three villains looked impressed.

 **Evie:  
(Seriously, you need to not be yourself)**

 **You wanna be cool?  
Let me show you how  
You don't break the rules  
I can show you how  
And once you catch this feeling**

They all backed up and sat on the fence; Evie in the middle, Ben and Alia on either side of her, and Carlos and Jay on the ends. Alia easily mimicked their moves, leaning back and snapping her fingers when they did, and crossing her arms and legs, as well. Then, Evie hopped off the fence. When the others echoed her, they also hopped off the fence and echoed her moves.

 **All:  
And once you catch this feeling  
You'll be chillin', chillin', oh  
Chillin' like a villain (chillin')  
Chillin' like a villain (chillin')  
Chillin' like a**

They danced in place for a bit before strutting a little farther down the alley.

 **Ben:**

 **I really wanna be bad a lot  
And I'm giving it my best shot  
But it's hard being what I'm not**

When they stopped again, Ben pulled Carlos into a man-hug and put his arm around Evie's shoulders. While they focused on him while he sang, Alia put her arm around her brother's waist, and Jay responded by dropping his thick arm onto her shoulders.

 **Carlos:  
Well if you don't, you're gonna get us caught**

 **Evie:  
He's right, we gotta stay low-key  
Now show us how bad you can be**

 **Ben:  
Like this? (yeah, yeah, yeah)**

Ben pulled out Evie's sunglasses and put them on, much to their surprise. Alia took that as her cue.

 **Alia:  
Like this? (yeah, yeah)**

Alia pulled her arm away and held up Jay's wallet, which he snatched back with a smirk. Ben then held up Carlos's phone, which Carlos took back with a growing grin. Evie took her glasses back, everyone grinning as they put their things away.

 **Ben:  
Oh yeah, I think I got this  
Let's go, I'm ready to rock this  
And I ain't gonna thank you for your help  
I think I found the worst in myself**

They all put their arms around each other and strutted down the alleyway, Alia between Jay and Evie.

 **Evie:**

 **You wanna be cool?  
Let me show you how  
You need to break the rules  
I can show you how  
And once you catch this feeling  
And once you catch this feeling  
You'll be chillin', chillin', oh  
Chillin' like a villain (chillin')  
Chillin' like a villain (chillin')  
Chillin' like a villain (chillin')  
Chillin' like a villain (chillin')  
Chillin' like a villain**

 **XXX**

 **Yeah, not very creative, but hope you all liked it. I'm not sure I did. This was more of a bonus chapter. I'll post the next chapter within a few days.**


	8. Chapter 8

After their impromptu "villain" lesson, the group sauntered down a narrow alley, Ben several feet in the lead as he got the hang of being a villain. Alia exchanged a grin with Jay until Ben bumped into another guy about their age.

"Hey, man." the other boy said, surprisingly not sounding hostile in the slightest. Nonetheless, Alia, Evie, Jay, and Carlos hurried to catch up to Ben.

"Hey. Hey, I know you." the boy continued, grinning at Ben. He had dirty blonde hair under a brown bandana, yellow fingerless gloves, a brown sleeveless vest, and blue jeans. At his words, Jay, Carlos, and Alia exchanged worried looks while Evie shook her head in casual denial.

"Uh, no, don't know you either, man." Ben answered in a low voice, his head tilted slightly down to hide his face.

"Uh, yeah you do." the boy responded as if it were obvious. "Come on, man. Really?" he went on while Ben and Evie exchanged a glance. "Eh? Dude, I'll give you a hint. My _dad_ is quick,… _slick_ , and his neck," he waved his fingers at his own neck. Alia glanced at Jay, who rolled his eyes. "eh? Is incredibly thick."

Ben glanced back at Jay, who gave him a look to play it cool. Alia, meanwhile, was silently repeating the boy's words in her mind. _'Quick, slick, and his neck is incredibly thick?'_ What the heck was he talking about?

"Come on, man, I know-" the boy suddenly stopped, looking over their shoulders and pointing at something. Alia and the others followed his finger to the wall behind them, which was covered in graffiti…and a poster of King Ben.

The boy looked back and forth between the poster and Ben, his finger following his eyes, and the small group looking back and forth with him, waiting for him to put two and two together, and hoping he wouldn't.

The sudden gasp that left the boy dashed all their hopes as he turned back to Ben. "You're King Ben!" he exclaimed.

Ben tried to stutter a denial, but Evie pushed Ben along while Carlos helped pull him. Jay and Alia hurried after them as they speed-walked down the alley.

"Yeah, yeah, you totally are King Ben, and you're Jay, Carlos, Evie; hey guys!" the boy's voice called after them. Alia forced herself not to look back, even though she was mildly curious about what just happened. Yes, it was bad, but that guy didn't seem completely evil.

"Well, that went great." Jay stated sarcastically as they turned down another alley, the taller boy taking the lead.

"Come on, it could've been worse." Carlos reasoned. "He might not even think to tell the others."

"Who was that, and who would he tell?" Alia asked curiously.

"That was Gil." Carlos explained as Alia walked at his side down the alley. "He's Gaston's youngest son. Not the sharpest tool in the shed, if you get what I mean."

"We're pretty sure Gaston dropped him on his head when he was little." Jay added over his shoulder.

"Anyway, he's kinda like the muscle of this other gang we used to butt heads with. He's really no trouble on his own, but if he goes and tells the others…well, that might present a problem." Carlos explained.

"So, let's find Mal and get out of here before that happens." Evie ordered, urging Jay to pick up the pace.

They left the alley and moved through what looked like a marketplace. It was almost like a very long building with a rickety wooden roof above their heads. There were dozens of booths and little shops on either side as they walked. Alia tried very hard to not stare at anyone or anything, keeping her chin high and eyes straight ahead, but some things caught her eyes.

There were old clothes and worn fabrics hanging from some booths. They passed a sign with a yellow frowning face that said 'Have a Terrible day'. There was a produce booth right next to it, with moldy and rotten fruits and vegetables in crates. A couple kids in raggedy clothes ran by and stole a couple apples, making Alia's stomach clench with pity. Across the isle and a couple booths down was a sign that said 'Hook's Clock and Curiosity Shop'. A glance at the shop showed dozens of clocks, of all shapes and sizes, some clearly antiques.

Walking closely with Carlos, Alia asked quietly, "Is, you know…Jafar's shop here?"

"No. His is bigger, and more toward the main part of the Isle." Carlos answered quietly.

They turned into another alley, brushing hanging clothes aside, until they reached the very back, where the two buildings on either side ended. Then, Jay grabbed a rock off a wooden wheel and threw it up until it hit a yellow diamond-shaped sign that read:

'DANGER

FLYING ROCKS'

The sign was dusty and patterned with dings and dents to show it was frequently hit with rocks. It swung back, and at the same time a squeak drew Alia's attention to a tall door made of metal fence-like mesh on the back of an abandoned warehouse. It slid up, revealing a set of tall, old, metal stairs. Jay grabbed Ben's shoulder and lead him toward the stairs. Then, Jay stopped and let Ben continue alone. Ben paused at the first step, looking back at them.

"Wish me luck." he told them seriously.

Jay pointed his finger toward the sky. "All the way up." he instructed.

Ben turned and walked slowly up the stairs, his feet on the metal echoing with every step.

Evie followed him up to the foot of the stairs, calling, "Good luck." Then, Carlos sat on a nearby crate and Jay leaned back against a pole while Evie leaned against the stair railing.

Alia leaned against the opposite railing, closest to the wall. She was silent for a few moments, as was everyone else, but her eyes traveled around at several things until finally, her curiosity was nearly killing her.

"Okay, I have several questions." she announced.

Jay chuckled. "I was wondering how long you'd be able to keep quiet."

Alia stuck her tongue out at him. "What is this place? Is this where Mal used to live with her mom?"

"No, this is our secret hideout." Jay answered, looking up at the tall, worn-down building. "It's an old warehouse. Carlos thinks it might have been an old sugar or candy factory."

"We'd all come here to either hang out or just get away from our parents." Carlos added. "Or patch ourselves up."

Alia frowned at the thought. She remembered, long ago, before she knew Jay was her twin, she'd seen the scars Jafar had inflicted upon him. She hadn't seen many scars on the others, except for a scar on Carlos's leg that was almost always hidden from view.

"And no one else knows about this place?" Alia asked, moving on to the next question.

"Well, people know our hideout is somewhere around here, and some of them know it's up there," Jay admitted, pointing upward, "but they don't know how to get in."

"Which brings me to my next question." Alia continued. "That sign? You just throw a rock, and…" she trailed off, hoping someone would explain how that had come about.

"Yeah, Carlos set that up." Jay answered with a grin toward his best friend. Carlos blushed, scratching the back of his neck.

"Yeah, I like to make stuff like that. That's probably how I survived this place before I joined these guys." Carlos admitted.

"So, you just set it up so that, when the sign's hit by something, it swings back and makes the door open?" Alia checked.

"Basically, yeah." Carlos nodded.

"That's awesome!" Alia exclaimed, her eyes wide. Carlos was the youngest of the group, having only recently turned fifteen while Jay, Evie, and Mal were seventeen, and yet he was in the same grade as them in school because of how smart he was. He would've had to have been fourteen years or younger when he set up this whole system.

"So, what all's up there?" she asked the group as a whole.

"We've all got our own areas." Evie answered. "We kept most of our things up there, instead of our houses. Sometimes we'd sleep up there to get away from our families."

Alia nodded, falling silent. So, basically, this was their home. Their safe place away from their families.

There was silence for a minute before the metal footsteps alerted them to Ben's return, and they all stood up straight as Ben appeared on the stairs.

"So?" Evie urged as Ben reached the bottom of the stairs. "Where's Mal?" she asked when she saw that he was alone. The gate squeaked quietly as it lowered itself closed behind Ben.

"She's not coming back." Ben answered quietly.

"What?" Evie snapped. Alia and Jay exchanged a worried look. "I'll talk to her." Evie hurried to a megaphone-like device hanging on a beam. "M?" she called into it. There was no response for a few seconds. "Mal, it's Evie. Let me just talk to you for a second. Mal, come on."

There was a loud thump and Alia glanced at the door, noticing something had happened to it. Had Mal just locked them all out?

 _"Go away!"_ Mal's voice called through the megaphone.

Evie sighed in disappointment while Jay grabbed her arm.

"Let's give her a couple hours to cool off." he suggested.

"Guys!" Carlos called.

Alia looked toward him with the others. He was standing a few feet away from them in the alley, looking back the way they'd come. When they approached him, he looked at them worriedly.

"Where's Ben?"

All three of them froze in place, staring down the alley intently in hopes of seeing the young king. Alia and Evie were behind Jay on either side.

"Ben?" Evie called hesitantly, all of them staring down the dark, dreary alley. Then, a lone figure appeared; a guy, walking towards them with his head down. Alia relaxed. She could understand why Ben would be upset with Mal basically dumping him and choosing to stay on the Isle, but wandering off in a place like this was just plain stupid.

"Ben!" Evie called while Jay and Carlos both sighed in relief. "Ben don't scare us like that." Evie snapped, looking both annoyed and relieved.

" _'Don't scare you'?_ " an unfamiliar voice called mockingly as the figure stepped into the light, revealing a guy Alia did not recognize in the slightest. But he was definitely _not_ Ben. His brown hair was messy and he was dressed in a red pirate-like coat. Whoever he was, he was obviously bad news. Carlos took a step back from him, and Jay and Evie both went tense. He was smirking at them with a crazy look in his eye. "But that's my specialty." he told them. Alia briefly noted she recognized his accent as Scottish, because Coach Hamish had the same accent.

"Harry." Evie breathed the guy's name in horror.

"What did you do with Ben?" Jay demanded, taking a step forward.

"Oh, um," Harry turned around and pointed back down the alley, and Alia found her eyes drawn to the metal hook on his left hand as it was brought closer to them. "we nicked him." he told them facing them once more. "Mhm. Yeah. And if you want to see him again," he looked and pointed up at the warehouse, "have Mal come to the chip shop tonight. _Alone_." he added, pointing around at them for a moment. "Uma wants…a little visit."

They all stared at him, frozen. Then, Harry's ice-blue eyes landed on Alia just over Jay's left shoulder.

"Well, well, well…And who might you be?" he asked seductively, looking over what he could see of her. "I think I'd remember seeing _you_ before."

Jay's arm moved to the side, blocking Harry from her. "She's off limits." he growled, taking a threatening step toward the other guy.

Harry chuckled in mock surprise. "Oh, Jay." He then looked Jay over, as well, "Seems like being a _prince_ has made you lose your touch." he mocked.

Jay lurched forward, his fist cocked back, but Evie and Alia both grabbed his shoulders.

"Jay!" Evie ordered sternly.

Harry, of course, found this endlessly amusing, giggling like a psychotic child. Then, his eyes landed on Carlos, who was looking at him like he was crazy, and he gave a sharp, dog-like yap. It was common knowledge that Carlos used to be petrified of dogs, but clearly no one on the Isle had heard he'd gotten over his fear.

Harry got no reaction out of Carlos, but that didn't faze him. Grinning wolfishly at them, he turned and sauntered back down the alley, whistling as he went.

They watched him go for a moment before Jay glanced back at Evie and Alia. He had an angry glare in his brown eyes, though Alia knew it wasn't aimed at them. He was angry at that guy.

Glancing upward, Jay moved forward and starting climbing up the side of the building, using planks of wood and crumbling wall. Alia moved forward, glancing at Evie and Carlos. They waved her up next, and Evie followed her with Carlos following last.

Now they had to tell Mal that they lost Ben.

 _'We're so dead.'_


	9. Chapter 9

"If you guys never would've brought him here, this never would have happened." Mal told her friends in a low, angry voice after they told her what happened. Jay, Evie, Carlos, and even Alia were looking down in shame. "What were you thinking!?" she demanded angrily.

"He was going to come with or without us, we just wanted to protect him!" Evie explained desperately.

"Yeah, and we completely blew it, guys." Carlos argued, looking back at Evie.

"Okay!" Jay called loudly to cut off an argument before continuing in a quieter voice. "Okay. So what are we going to do?" he asked Mal.

" _We_ ," Mal gestured between herself and the others standing across the room, "are not doing anything." Her pumps made loud clomps on the wood steps as she moved down to their level. "This is between Uma and me. And she's a punk. And guess what? Now I have to go get him."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, Mal, you're still going to have to go through Harry Hook and his war frats." Carlos pointed out worriedly.

"Yeah, you're gunna need us." Jay added.

"Uma said to come alone." Mal pointed out calmly.

"Mal, come on." Evie tried to argue.

"She said to come alone." Carlos agreed resignedly, looking back at the others. "I know one thing. I'm not going anywhere." And with that, he plopped down on the worn, patched up brown couch behind himself.

"We'll be here when you get back." Jay swore to Mal. She just gave him a tense look and walked out, her purple bag on her shoulder.

Alia released the breath she'd been holding. Mal had been beyond shocked to see her among her friends climbing in through the window, and had been beyond _pissed_ to hear about Ben's kidnapping.

Carlos was still sitting on the couch, his elbows on his knees as he got lost in thought. Evie had wandered off to a far corner of the building, looking lost in her own thoughts. Or maybe memories, since the corner she was looking at was clearly her "room". It had red and blue everywhere, graffiti of a red apple and blue roses, as well as a black and white picture of Evie taking up most of the wall, plus a headless mannequin next to the bed.

When Alia had first climbed into the building through the small window, she'd caught a glance at her surroundings and was amazed by everything, but she'd been distracted by Mal's anger and their explanation. Not to mention Mal's look. She was dressed in purple and green leather and had straight, light purple hair with bangs. Basically, she looked like the old Mal, just better. Now, however, with nothing better to do while they waited, Alia allowed herself to look around more.

It resembled a messy, mismatched apartment in how it was set up. There were several rooms and levels, but no actual doors, just doorways. Mal, and maybe some of the others, had some fun decorating the walls with graffiti.

Turning almost in a complete circle in her appraisal of the place, Alia stared at the wall behind the couch Carlos was sitting on.

There was a large, black and white painting of Jay on the wall. A small painting over that one showed a red genie, probably Jafar, coming out of a magic lamp with the words 'Long Live Evil' scrawled across his back. Glancing down at the floor around that wall, she saw things that were clearly Jay's, and things he'd stolen. This was Jay's area.

There was a rickety chair, several radios and stereos, and a square wicker table. Then there was the old couch Carlos was sitting on. It was tattered and brown with a blanket and a couple blue and orange sleeping bags spread over it. On one side was a crate with a lamp on it, and beyond that a bicycle was hanging from the ceiling. There was also a punching bag hanging on the other side of the couch. A wooden chest was sitting in front of the couch, acting as a coffee table of sorts.

Glancing around again, Alia realized Jay had disappeared. She peered through the nearest doorway to see if she could see him, but there was no sign.

Glancing at Carlos, she asked, "Do you know where Jay went?"

Carlos looked up at her, then glanced through the same doorway she'd just looked through. "He probably went somewhere that way."

"Am I allowed to go look for him?" she asked dryly, mocking Jay's rule while secretly a tiny bit nervous. The encounter with Harry and Ben's kidnapping had shaken her.

Carlos laughed, leaning back on the couch. "Yeah, you can look around as long as you stay in the building."

Alia nodded in understanding and moved through the doorway up a couple steps into the next room. This room seemed to be more of a gathering place. The far wall was decorated with a very large black and white painting of Evie, Carlos, Mal, and Jay with the words 'Rotten to the Core!' in black, white, and green paint. There was an old drum set by the wall, with an old trunk, radio, and other odds and ends. A couple feet away was a red, leather couch that was in surprisingly good shape, a rickety table with an old, yellow TV set, and a red desk.

Alia looked around the room, realizing the sounds of the alley below were a bit louder in this room. That's when she realized a window across the room was open. Warily, she crossed the room and peaked out the window from a safe distance. She relaxed when she saw Jay sitting on the metal steps of a fire escape.

Knocking lightly on the glass of the window, Alia peaked her head outside as Jay looked up at her.

"Hey." she greeted quietly. "Can I come out here?"

Jay nodded once tensely. "Sure."

Stepping gracefully through the small, open window, Alia's boots clumped on the metal surface below. She sat carefully down on the floor of the fire escape, across from where Jay was sitting on the second step of the stairs leading up to the next level.

"What are you doing out here?" she asked quietly, resting her forearms on her bent-up knees.

Jay briefly held up a coke can he was drinking from before taking a swig.

"They get soda here?" Alia questioned, having remembered him telling her a long time ago that they didn't get sweet things on the Isle.

"Only after it's expired. This one was expired for more than a year before we left, and it's just been sitting in there since." Jay admitted.

"Is it still safe to drink?" Alia asked, both wary and curious.

Jay looked down at the can and shrugged. "Tastes fine. Then again, I grew up drinking coffee from the goblins' Slop Shop. I'm pretty sure they put dead frogs in their coffee."

Alia grimaced in disgust. "You _drank_ that?" she asked, appalled.

Jay grinned slightly at her. "There wasn't anything better to eat or drink." he reminded her.

"Sorry." Alia frowned, feeling bad once again for how spoiled her life seemed compared to his.

"Stop." Jay ordered, knowing what she was thinking. "This place might suck, but it made me who I am. I wouldn't change that."

Alia nodded silently, her eyes glancing at the remains of a six pack of coke. "Can I have one?" she asked, nodding toward the cans.

Jay raised a brow at her. "Alright." he agreed warily, grabbing one and tossing it to her. Alia popped the tab, noting there was no fizzing sound or bubbles. Taking a hesitant sip, it mostly tasted the same, just completely flat. Deciding it was fine, she took another solid drink.

Jay shook his head, grinning in amusement before taking another drink from his can.

"So, I've got some questions." Alia announced.

"I figured. Go ahead." Jay nodded toward her.

"Well,…not to bash on Mal, but…I just don't completely understand why she came back here. Did she run away simply because of a fight with Ben?" she asked hesitantly. She hadn't really been told any details behind Mal running away.

"There's more to it than that. You have to remember, how we grew up is very different from life in Auradon. Mal went from being a villain to the King's girlfriend. She's been really stressed out the last couple months, preparing to become a Lady of the Court."

Alia nodded slowly. "I guess I can understand that. It's stressful enough for people who were raised that way. But what about you? You've been training to be a prince, and you'll be taking over Agrabah in a few years or so. How come Mal snapped and you didn't?"

Jay looked thoughtfully down at his soda can. "If I had to guess…I haven't been put under as much pressure. I don't really care about my image as much as Mal does. And Dad's been really helpful for me since this all started. He doesn't put any pressure on me to fit a certain prince mold. He doesn't expect me to be a certain way, no one really does. But no one's been like that for Mal. Looking back, I should've checked up on her more. I got so caught up in my own life, with being a prince and team Captain, that I just never noticed how stressed out she was."

Alia smiled softly at him. "It's not your fault, Jay. No one expects you to take care of everyone else. You have your own life and struggles, too."

Jay grinned slightly. "Yeah, I guess."

Wanting to change the subject, and get all her questions answered, Alia continued, "So, who's this _Uma_ person that wants to talk to Mal?"

"Uma's Ursula's daughter. You know, the sea witch from the story of Ariel, the little mermaid?"

"Is her daughter an octopus, too?" Alia asked, her eyes wide.

"Not that I know of." Jay chuckled, shaking his head. "I've only ever seen two legs on her."

"So, what's her beef with Mal?"

"They used to almost be friends, believe it or not." Jay admitted. "But that didn't last. Basically, Uma made Mal mad by laughing at her once, so Mal got even by dumping a bucket of shrimp on her head. I don't know if she ever got the smell of shrimp out of her hair, but since then, the nickname Shrimpy kinda stuck. So, now Uma hates Mal's guts. Then, Mal started up our little gang and wouldn't let Uma join. I guess Uma recently made up her own gang. Harry Hook, who you unfortunately just met, is her _first mate_. Gil, who we met earlier, is their brainless muscle. They also have a small pirate crew at their command."

Alia nodded slowly as she took in this information. "I take it Harry's the son of Captain Hook?"

"What gave it away?" Jay joked. "The name, or the hook for a hand?"

"Both." Alia laughed. "But how did he get a hook, anyway? That's not something you're born with, so he didn't genetically inherit it from his father."

"Oh, it's fake." Jay informed her casually. "But he's got an obsession with hooks. When we were kids, he tried to make one of the crocodiles swimming around the Isle bite off his hand so he could have a real hook."

Alia gaped slightly. "So, he's insane." she stated.

Jay laughed. "Yeah, pretty much."

Alia waited while her brother took another drink of his soda. "So,…what's your deal with him?"

"What do you mean?" Jay asked, pretending not to understand.

"You guys have some history." Alia stated, tilting her head and narrowing her eyes thoughtfully at him. "There was a lot of tension when he showed up. So, wanna tell me what that was all about?"

Jay sighed, leaning back on the steps behind him, one elbow propped up on a step.

"It's complicated." he started. "There's a lot of stuff that's happened, and it's kinda hard to explain it."

"Try anyway?" Alia suggested hopefully.

"Well,…for one, we're kinda competitive."

"You competitive?" Alia pretended to be surprised to lighten the mood. Jay made a face at her, but was grinning.

"Shut up. Anyway, we used to compete a lot. Not officially, but we were just always trying to one-up each other. Mostly with stealing and girls. Of course, I'm the best thief on the island." Jay boasted. "I can steal someone blind before they even notice. Harry, he can't pickpocket to save his life. He steals by intimidating and threatening people into giving him their things. I also might have stolen his hook once or twice." Jay admitted, making Alia laugh.

"Nice."

"We were also physically competitive. We'd get in sword fights and fist fights. We were pretty evenly matched in that, but he was always a bit better at sword fighting. Pretty obvious, since he's a wannabe pirate and all."

"Bet I could beat him in a sword fight." Alia boasted.

Jay gave her a stern look. "That's not happening. I'm not letting him near you, especially after what happened in the alley."

"Why? What do you mean?" Alia asked curiously.

Jay shrugged, looking down again.

"Jay-"

"Another thing we competed with was messing around with girls. We were-are both players. Girls would fall over themselves when we were around. It fed our egos.

"Harry has two sisters. Harriet, his older sister, and CJ, his younger sister. I…might have messed around with both of them. He doesn't care about them, most people here don't have tight family ties, it was just embarrassing for him, that his sisters would even bother with someone like me. I only really bothered with them because I knew it would bug him. And they weren't hard on the eyes, either."

"And now you think he'll do the same with me." Alia guessed.

"Or worse." Jay agreed. "Especially now that he's seen how protective I am of you. He's going to target you relentlessly if he gets the chance. He'll try to hurt you to get back at me."

"Well, I can take care of myself." Alia pointed out. Seeing that that wasn't making him feel any better, she added, "And you and the others will have my back."

Jay glanced up at her and grinned. "True."

"Any other issues between you and Hook?" Alia asked teasingly.

"Well,…him and Mal have some kind of…complicated relationship. And I know how he is. I don't want him to hurt her anymore than I want him to hurt you."

Alia smiled softly. "See? Being in Auradon hasn't made you lose your touch. It just made you more protective."

"Hey, guys!" Carlos called, peaking his head out the window with his hands braced on the windowsill. "Mal's back, and she doesn't look happy."

 **XXX**

 **Not a lot going on, but lots of sibling fluff!**

 **Let me know what you thought of this chapter!**


	10. Chapter 10

Alia and Jay climbed back inside, Jay shutting the window behind them. They hurried into the little gathering area, where the others were already waiting. Evie and Carlos had both taken off their leather jackets, though Evie was still wearing the leather skirt that seemed attached to her jacket earlier. Jay took off his own jacket and tossed it over the back of the red leather couch before plopping down and lounging against the arm of said couch. Alia took off her jacket and set it on the couch's other arm before sitting by her brother while Carlos sat at the desk, sitting backward in the chair. Evie remained standing while Mal paced back and forth angrily.

"Okay, so, Uma gave us an ultimatum." Mal announced grimly. "By noon tomorrow we have to bring Fairy Godmother's wand to her ship, or Ben's dead."

"What?!" Most of them exclaimed in horror.

"There's no way we're gonna give Uma the wand! We can't just let her _destroy_ Auradon!" Evie argued desperately.

"Uma doesn't get the wand, then Ben is toast." Carlos pointed out.

"Yeah-"

"Great, so we're going to give _Uma_ , of all people, the wand."

"Do we have another choice?" Carlos, Evie, and Jay all talked over each other.

"Wait, you guys!" Mal called, her face lighting up with an idea. Everyone fell silent and looked at her. "Your 3D printer." she said to Carlos.

"A phony wand." Carlos caught on.

"Yes!"

"In my sleep."

"Yeah, but the second Uma tests it she'll know it's fake." Evie pointed out.

Jay sat up while Alia leaned forward on her elbows.

"Okay, so we'll just get Ben out really fast." Mal pointed out.

"We could use some kind of diversion so they don't notice." Alia suggested, thinking of her pickpocketing knowledge.

There was silence for a second before Jay thought of a diversion. "Smoke bombs!"

Mal pointed at him excitedly while Alia grinned.

"That's perfect!" Evie agreed, finally getting into the plan. "I'll get the chemicals we need from Lady Tremaine's place. That could work."

Evie crossed the room and stopped in front of Mal. "Oh, and sick hair, by the way," she said, touching Mal's hair, "Evil step-mom _seriously_ stepped up her game."

"Okay, you wanna know something? Dizzy did this." Mal told her in amazement.

"Little Dizzy? _Shut up_."

Alia glanced over at the boys. Jay had stood up and moved toward the desk behind Carlos, who was staring open-mouthed at the two girls.

"I know. I'm, like, loving it. It's like a lot lighter." Mal added, running her fingers through her hair.

"I'm really proud of her." Evie added.

Jay cleared his throat loudly, bumping his elbow into Carlos's back.

"Hellooo?" Carlos added.

Mal and Evie paused, Evie whipping her head around to stare at them. Carlos responded by holding out one hand in a gesture that said 'Seriously?'.

Mal clapped once while Evie said, "Right." both getting back on track.

"Carlos, Jay, you guys meet us at Pirate's Bay _no later_ than noon. And you guys," she added when Jay stood up straight again, "losing: not an option. 'Cause we're rotten."

"To the core." Evie, Jay, and Carlos answered.

Jay and Carlos both grabbed their jackets and Alia stood up before she realized, she wasn't sure who she was going with.

"Uh, who am I with?" she asked, raising a hand.

"You could-"

"Us." Jay cut Evie off. Evie gave him a patient, mildly-amused look.

"You know, she'd probably like Dizzy." she pointed out.

"I'm sure she would." Jay agreed, shrugging his jacket on. "Everyone with a heart likes Dizzy. But I'm not leaving my little sister on the Isle of the Lost without me."

"'Little' my butt." Alia joked. "You're four minutes older than me."

"And a lot taller." Jay responded with a smirk.

"Five inches!" Alia shot back.

"Okay! Thank you!" Carlos stepped between them, waving his hands, though he looked amused. "She'll come with us. Just to be safe." he added to Alia. "We've already lost Ben, we don't need to risk another kidnapping."

"Alright, fine." Alia sighed in defeat, pulling on her jacket and zipping it up halfway before following the others. When the five of them reached the alley, they went separate ways, Jay, Carlos, and Alia going back the way they'd come when they arrived at the Isle.

"Okay, so...who's Dizzy?" Alia asked quietly, walking between the boys down the narrow alley away from the hideout.

"You know Lady Tremaine? Cinderella's evil stepmother?" Carlos asked. Alia nodded. "Dizzy's one of her granddaughters. She's Drizella's youngest daughter. I think she's…ten now?" Carlos glanced at Jay.

"Yeah, something like that." Jay agreed. "Her and Evie are close, practically sisters. Dizzy always looked up to her."

"And Jay had a soft spot for her, too." Carlos smirked. Jay stretched a long, muscled arm around Alia's back to smack him upside the head before they turned into the marketplace.

"We included Tremaine's Curl up & Dye shop in our turf to keep creeps like Harry from messing with Dizzy." Jay admitted quietly. "We still collected from the shop, but me and Evie made sure no one messed with Dizzy."

"Aw!" Alia cooed teasingly, smirking sideways at her brother. She almost wished she'd gone with the girls to meet Dizzy, now, knowing Jay seemed to have seen her as yet another little sister.

"Shut up." Jay said simply, reaching over and shoving Alia's beanie down over her eyes.

"Well, look who came back to their roots." an unfamiliar, deep, smooth voice spoke from somewhere behind them.

Alia stopped, feeling the boys go tense and turn around on either side of her. Pulling her hat back up, Alia also turned around, only to go stiff. She almost didn't notice Jay pull her slightly behind him, because her eyes were fixed on the figure that stepped out of a nearby booth.

He looked much the same as his statue and portrait in the Cultural History Museum in Auradon, except he'd obviously aged and put on a little weight. His clothes were tattered and tight around his middle, but he still had the cruel smirk and cold, dark eyes.

"Hello, Son." he smirked, looking at Jay.

"I'm _not_ your son." Jay snapped, taking a single step toward the man.

"And yet, here you are, back home, in your element." Jafar stated smoothly, taking a couple steps closer to them.

"This isn't my home." Jay told him, his lip curled in disgust. "And _you're_ not my father."

"Maybe not by blood." Jafar agreed. "But who raised you since you were a baby? Who cared for you? Made you the man you are today?"

"You _stole_ me from my family." Jay snapped, getting even angrier. "And you may have raised me, but you _never_ cared for me. Never loved me the way a parent is supposed to. I should have been raised by my real parents, Aladdin and Jasmine, but you stole that from me just as you stole their son from them. And the man I am today?" he continued. "That has nothing to do with you. I chose to be good. I chose to accept my family and my birthright. I will be ruling Agrabah in the near future, like you always wanted to. But I will be ruling it the right way, sharing the honor and responsibility with my sister. You _failed_ , Jafar." Jay told him slowly. "You tried to turn Aladdin's son into a villain,…and you failed."

Head held high, Jay turned away from Jafar and started to lead the way down the marketplace.

"I may have failed to turn you into a villain," Jafar called angrily, "but I _will_ get off this retched island!"

There was a scuffle behind them and Jay felt a chill run up his spine when he heard his sister yelp in surprise. Jay and Carlos whipped around to see that Jafar had Alia in his grasp, one arm around her chest while his other hand held a dagger to her throat. Alia's body was rigid, his chin tilted up and jaw clenched. The whites of her eyes were visible as she glanced around for an escape.

Jay instinctively took a step toward them, only to freeze because Carlos grabbed his shoulder _and_ Jafar pressed the blade more firmly to Alia's neck.

"Ah, ah, ah." Jafar taunted. "Not another step, _Jason_." he sneered. "She's my ticket out of here. Free me, and she's free to go."

Carlos glanced anxiously at Jay, but his friend's eyes were fixed almost frantically on his sister. They didn't know what to do. First, they lost Ben, now this?

Then, Alia suddenly leaned forward and down against the arm with the knife, her hands pinning Jafar's arm to her chest. This forced the blade away from her enough that she was safe to slam her elbow into Jafar's side. He gasped in pain while Alia ducked backward under his knife-wielding arm, twisting his arm around behind his back. With a twist against Jafar's wrist, she disarmed him of the dagger and quickly backed away toward Jay and Carlos. Jay instantly grabbed her shoulder and pulled her behind him so she was between him and Carlos.

Jafar grabbed his shoulder, wincing as he glared balefully at the three teens.

"I see you've been teaching her a few things." he muttered to Jay, who stared at him through narrow eyes.

"Nope. She knew that before I did." Jay stated simply. "Now back off, or you'll get worse than that."

With Carlos leading, and Jay keeping a careful eye on their backs, the three teens hurried as calmly as they could out of the marketplace. Only when Carlos lead them into another alley did they slow down, though they still kept a careful eye on their surroundings.

Jay moved to Alia's side, gently taking the dagger from her white-knuckled grasp.

"You okay?" he asked quietly, watching her expression.

Alia swallowed thickly, her eyes darting toward him before looking straight ahead. "Yeah, I'm fine…I just never really expected to have to use those self-defense lessons."

Jay sighed harshly, his eyes straight ahead again as they hurried through the maze of alleys. "I never should've allowed this. You shouldn't have come."

"You're not the boss of me." she reminded him, surprisingly in a quiet voice instead of teasing or mocking or even angry. "You have to learn, Jay, we're partners. We're equals. You don't have to protect me _all the time_. We're eventually going to rule a kingdom together, and I get just as much say in the decisions we'll have to make as you do."

Jay sighed quietly, looking down at the dirty alley street as they walked. "I guess you're right. When this whole nightmare is over, I'll really work on it."

Alia glanced up at him, and though she didn't smile, as they'd instructed her and Ben not to do on the Isle, her brown eyes were light.

They reached the hidden limo a few minutes later, and after pulling the tarps off the car, the boys got in the front while Alia slid into the back. Then Jay sped toward Auradon.


	11. Chapter 11

"Park by the backdoor to the amphitheatre." Alia ordered, sitting on her knees in the limo's backseat so she could peak out through the partition. "No one's ever back there. And it's not far from the backdoor to the school."

"Which is close to our room." Carlos added, grinning back at her. "Smart."

"I try." Alia returned the grin, sitting back against her heels.

Jay parked where ordered and the trio hurried stealthily into the school and up the flights of stairs. When they turned into the hallway that would lead to Jay and Carlos's room, Dude came scurrying toward them with his tail wagging.

"Hi." Carlos greeted his dog, kneeling down to pick him up. "I'm sorry I'm so late, Dude. Ben got captured." Carlos then moved toward their room when Jay grabbed his shoulder to stop him.

"Why's our door open?" he asked seriously.

 _'So that's where Dude came from,'_ Alia thought.

They hurried the few remaining feet to stop in the open doorway. Alia peaked from between the two guys' shoulders to see the backside of Chad Charming, using Carlos's 3D printer.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me." Carlos said dryly. Chad turned off the printer and spun around to look at them.

"I knocked." he told them, as if that would make it better. Alia rolled her eyes.

The trio entered the room, Carlos putting his dog on the ground. "Go on, Dude." When he straightened, he held out his hand, palm up, expectantly.

Chad sighed, pulling a key out of his pocket and placing it Carlos's hand.

"What is that?" Jay asked disdainfully, looking past Chad at the inside of the tall, cylindrical, glass printer. Alia tilted her head, wrinkling her nose at what looked like some kind of doll.

Chad turned to open the printer. "Oh! Chad action figure." he took it out and made a jet sound effect as he 'flew' it by their faces. Chad chuckled until he brought it back toward his own face. "Oh, minus the head." he added regretfully.

"Sounds like an improvement." Carlos commented, making Alia and Jay snort. "Excuse me."

Carlos and Jay pushed Chad aside to lean over the printer's control panel. Alia leaned over Carlos's other side, watching him hook his phone up to the printer. She glanced over and realized Chad was watching from over Jay's shoulder.

"Um, guys-"

Chad gasped, having seen the screen on Carlos's phone. "Why are you guys making Fairy Godmother's wand?"

They lurched away from each other, Jay, Carlos, and Alia facing a suspicious Chad, as the three tried to come up with an answer.

"Uh, why are we making Fairy Godmother's wand?" Carlos asked Jay, trying to buy some time. Jay clearly had no answer, so he waved his hand for Carlos to answer. "'Cause, uh-"

Alia started to answer, "For a play."

But then Dude blurted out, "Ben's been captured!"

Everyone's head snapped toward Carlos's bed, where Dude was sitting. Alia's mouth hung open wordlessly, though this time not because the dog talked.

"What?" Chad gasped. "Dude can talk?"

"I was stalling." Carlos hissed at his dog.

"I thought you forgot." Dude defended himself with an adorable puppy face. Alia's lips twitched despite the serious situation.

Jay leaned forward and smacked Chad's shoulder. " _Don't_ tell anyone. Ben's life depends on it."

"Really?" Chad questioned in a tone Alia didn't like, but she got distracted by movement out of the corner of her eye. She looked quickly toward the open bedroom door, but no one was there. "So if something were to happen, you know what I'm saying." Chad continued, pulling Alia's attention back.

"Something bad, we get it." Carlos responded in a strained voice.

"God forbid." Chad added with a slight chuckle. "But if something were to happen…who do you think would be in line to be king?" And with that, he held up his stupid, headless doll.

Alia curled her lip in disgust.

"Is it me, or is that in _really_ poor taste?" Jay took the words right out of Alia's mouth.

"Almost _villainous_ , I'd say." Alia added while Carlos scoffed.

Jay stepped to the door, holding it open pointedly. When Chad looked back at Carlos and Alia, Carlos nodded his head toward the door, silently telling the prince to get lost.

"I'm taking this." he told them, holding up the headless doll as he headed for the door, as if they'd want to keep it. He'd just stepped into the hallway when he turned to say something, "And if you think I-" Jay slammed the door in his face with a loud _BANG_.

"Thank you, Jay." Carlos said as Jay returned to the printer.

"Yes."

Alia stood by them for a moment, watching Carlos finish setting the printer up.

"How long do you think it'll take to make the wand?" she asked, her arms crossed casually.

"Hard to say for sure. A few hours, at least." Carlos admitted.

Alia glanced worriedly at the alarm clock on Jay's bedside table. It was about three in the morning. "Do we have time?"

"It'll be cutting it close." Carlos admitted. "But we should be good."

The printer started making a low humming sound, and a small circle appeared at the bottom, the machine starting to create the fake wand. Jay and Carlos pulled out a couple chairs and plopped into them, prepared to wait. Alia glanced around before taking off her jacket and laying down on Carlos's bed, curled up with Dude. She sat up slightly against the backboard, hoping the uncomfortable position would keep her awake. She didn't completely trust Jay to wake her up to go back to the Isle. She wouldn't put it past him to leave her in Auradon after what had already happened on the Isle.

However, the long, busy day was taking it's toll on her, and soon her eyes were falling closed.

She was shaken awake sometime later by a hand on her shoulder. Scrunching up her face, Alia blinked her eyes open and looked around. Jay was looking down at her, grinning slightly as he met her eyes.

"Get up, unless you'd rather stay here." He looked like he'd prefer that option, but at least he was actually giving her a choice.

Alia quickly sat up, hurriedly grabbing her jacket and sliding it back on over her now-wrinkled t-shirt. "No, no. I'm up. Let's go." she said, hurrying over to the door where Carlos was waiting with a very-believable fake wand.

"Hey, guys! What about me?" Dude called, causing them to pause in the doorway. The little dog was sitting up in Carlos's bed.

"No, Dude. You stay." Carlos told him sternly, pointing a finger at him. "I'm serious; stay."

Dude groaned and laid down on the bed with his chin on his paws.

"I love you, buddy. We'll be back before you know it." Carlos called before closing the door and following Jay and Alia down the hallway. They made it down all the stairs and outside without running into anyone. However, once they hurried out the back doors, they jerked to a stop, Jay hiding the wand behind his back as the came face-to-face with a fully awake and dressed Doug.

"Oh, hey." he said when he saw them. "Have you seen Evie?"

Alia looked over at the boys, who were looking at each other. She briefly wondered why Doug was looking for Evie so early in the morning, but then she remembered they worked together and probably had to get some last minute work done for the Cotillion dresses.

"Uh…" Carlos and Jay looked at each other, and Jay waved his hand to urge his friend on. "She went camping." Carlos finally said, the three looking back at Doug. Alia was tempted to face palm. Evie? Camping? Yeah, that's believable.

Doug clearly was thinking along the same lines as Alia. "Evie-I-want-to-live-in-a-castle? Sleeping on the ground with no place to plug in a hairdryer."

Jay and Carlos once again exchanged frantic glances while Alia wracked her brain for something to say.

"You know how spontaneous she is, bro." Carlos explained, him and Jay chuckling. Alia joined in with a light laugh as they started backing away from the half-dwarf. "Later Doug." Carlos added as Doug turned to leave. Alia and the boys also turned away, only to jerk to a halt once again when they came face-to-face with Lonnie.

"I'm coming with you guys." she announced bluntly.

Alia looked her friend over. For some reason, Lonnie was still wearing the Swords and Shields outfit Evie had made for them, and she had a carrier strapped over one shoulder holding several swords.

Jay and Carlos started laughing awkwardly.

"What?" Jay laughed, looking at Carlos. "We don't need swords at the…" Lonnie and Alia looked at him expectantly, wondering what he would say. "Waffle Hut." he finished awkwardly, his face blank. Carlos's head slowly turned to look at him in disbelief. Alia couldn't believe how horrible these two former villains were at lying on the spot.

Lonnie's crossed arms fell to her sides. "You're going to the Isle to rescue Ben." she stated. "Look, it's either you take me, or…I'm gonna have to tell Fairy Godmother."

Jay and Carlos exchanged a glance, both looking doubtful. Alia moved onto her tiptoes to talk quietly near her brother's ear.

"She has swords and we're going to deal with pirates." she hissed pointedly. "She could seriously help us out."

Jay sighed in defeat and nodded slightly, his eyes moving back to Lonnie.

The ever-cheerful teenager couldn't contain her excitement. She practically squealed as they turned to head toward the limo, and Lonnie walked between the boys with an arm around their shoulders. Neither boy looked pleased.

Alia rolled her eyes slightly. "Lonnie, I love you, but you're going to make them change their minds with your cheerfulness."

Lonnie cleared her throat, releasing both boys and calming herself down, though she couldn't quite contain her smile. "Right. Sorry."

The four teens hurried toward where the limo was parked by the backdoor to the amphitheatre, but they hesitated when they saw someone else approaching the door, as well. The man glanced at the limo before his eyes found the group of teens just as he reached the door. He turned toward them expectantly, and Alia knew they couldn't avoid this encounter.

"Hey." Li'l Shang greeted them as they approached. "What're you all doing up so early on a Saturday?"

"We could ask you the same thing." Alia countered before the others could come up with another lame lie.

Shang grinned slightly. "Wanted to get in a workout before the gym's overrun with arrogant teenage boys." he joked.

Alia couldn't help grinning. "Smart."

"So, what are you all up to?" Shang repeated his question, eyeing the group curiously.

Alia glanced at Jay and Carlos, debating if she should leave it to them or deal with this herself, since they'd shown mediocre lying skills.

"Um," Sure enough, Carlos stuttered and looked at Jay, who was looking at him, both clearly wanting the other to say something. Shang's eyes narrowed slightly with suspicion as he waited for a response.

Jay, Carlos, and Lonnie all turned and stared at Alia when she started speaking, "Ben wanted all of us to meet him,…to help set up some Cotillion surprise." she answered slowly, thinking fast before the words left her mouth. "Super top secret." she added a bit quicker.

Shang stared at her curiously. "Sounds fun. You guys all looking forward to Cotillion?"

They all glanced at each other. "Uh, well, I mean, why not?" Carlos laughed awkwardly. "You know, apart from none of us having dates."

Alia rolled her eyes toward the sky, wishing Carlos would shut up.

"Seriously?" Shang grinned. " _None_ of you have dates?" he added, glancing briefly at his sister before looking at Alia.

"Who needs dates?" Jay asked with a grin. "That way I can dance with all the girls."

Alia rolled her eyes again, jabbing her elbow into her brother's ribs. "Well, we really need to get going. Ben's waiting for us." she urged.

Jay, Carlos, and Lonnie quickly voiced agreement. They said goodbye to Shang and hurried around a corner. Alia met Shang's eyes briefly, smiling at him as she followed the others. They hid around a corner until he went into the amphitheater. Then, they hurried to the limo parked nearby. They put the swords in the trunk and the girls climbed into the back so Alia could spend the drive filling Lonnie in on what was happening and what they would be facing.

The ride wasn't quite as long as it'd been before, but Alia had the feeling Jay was speeding slightly. They eventually crossed over the ocean onto the Isle and Jay parked the limo in the same place as before. Alia saw Evie and Mal already waiting for them by the large metal tunnel. Evie was holding Mal's purple bag, which she guessed had the smoke bombs.

Lonnie got out and went to greet the other girls, who were happy to see her. Alia moved around the limo to join the boys at the trunk. They opened the trunk and Jay pulled the carrier of swords out only to reveal Dude laying inside the trunk partially hidden by an old blanket.

Carlos and Alia gaped slightly, the younger boy looking between Jay and Dude.

"And Dude." Jay stated in resignation, not too thrilled.

"I told you to stay." Carlos complained at his dog.

"I flunked obedience class." Dude explained. Alia snorted, having to turn her head away to fight back her laughter.

"Great. And he can still talk." Jay deadpanned.

"You're lucky I love you." Carlos told the little dog, reaching in with one arm to get Dude out of the trunk. Jay slammed the trunk closed and the three approached the other girls, Dude walking between them.

"Ooh." Mal held out a hand when she saw the fake wand. "Here. Let me see." Carlos passed it to her to examine. "Wow. What a beauty." She passed it back to Carlos.

"It's noon." Jay announced.

"Alright. Are we ready?" Mal asked the group, looking around at them.

"Yeah." Evie answered, holding up the bag, probably referring to the smoke bombs.

"Let's do this."


	12. Chapter 12

**Don't hate me, but I didn't have the motivation to write out the whole**

 _ **It's Going Down**_ **song. Besides, it focuses mostly on Mal anyway, and I couldn't think of an interesting way to squeeze Alia in there. So I skimmed over the song part. Hope you all like it anyway!**

 **XXX**

Mal lead the way into the large metal tunnel, the same one they'd told Ben to stay away from. Evie followed, and then Jay, Alia, and Lonnie. Alia barely heard Carlos order Dude to 'stay' before he brought up the rear.

They came out the other end of the tunnel onto a series of docks. There were ladders and steps everywhere, people of all ages in tattered pirate-like clothes moving about. The biggest thing Alia noticed was the enormous pirate ship docked nearby. She could barely see about a dozen pirates onboard, including a couple people Alia had seen already, like Harry and Gil.

Jay stashed the swords in a barrel before anyone saw.

"Hey guys!" Gil called down to the crew from where he was hanging from a rope net higher up. "They're here."

Glancing down at Alia at his shoulder, Jay ordered quietly, "Stay by me."

Alia nodded, knowing now was not the time to argue.

"Welcome!" Harry called sarcastically, his arms spread wide. Ben stood near him, ropes wrapped around his torso and arms.

"Finally!" an unfamiliar girl added, looking almost giddy. Alia guessed she was Uma. She had dark skin and a pirate hat atop turquoise braids.

The Vks group split up, moving onto different levels on the docks. Mal moved front and center, in front of a plank of wood that connected the ship to the dock. Lonnie and Carlos stood on a dock behind her. Alia, Jay, and Evie spread out on a dock a level above the others.

Throughout the song, Alia stayed by Jay or one of the others. When Harry Hook got in Mal's face, Alia watched with the others while Jay moved to stand just behind Mal. Even from behind, Alia could tell Jay was keeping a close eye on Hook's son, especially when he touched Mal's face with his hook. And when Uma dragged Harry back toward the ship, Jay pulled Mal back to stand with the others.

But then, after the song, as Mal prepared to hand the fake wand over, Uma pulled a wild card.

"Hold up." Uma ordered when Mal started to approach her with the wand. "Too easy. Why don't you give it a test drive?"

Alia froze, as did the others. She exchanged a glance with Jay, whose jaw was clenched. Evie and Carlos did the same, while Lonnie kept a blank face even though she glanced at all of them.

"We want to see it work." Uma explained, smirking arrogantly.

Mal gave a forced yet believable chuckle. "You always were _quite_ the drama queen."

"Oh, and nothing too big or else Ben is fish bait." Uma added. The pirate crew behind her jeered and taunted. Uma's words drew Alia's eyes briefly to Ben. Harry was hanging onto the back of his jacket collar on the end of the plank, letting Ben practically dangle over the ocean below.

Alia's fingers dug into the wood of the rail in front of her. She heard Carlos mumble, "We're dead," and glanced over. Evie was whispering something in Carlos's ear.

So Alia saw, when Mal looked back at her friends for ideas, Carlos tilt his head toward his right. Alia's eyes traveled past all of them and saw…Dude.

Alia's head snapped back to face the pirate ship. Her eyes met Harry's from over Ben's shoulder and he smirked at her, waggling his eyebrows up and down. Alia grimaced and pointedly turned her attention back to the main girls: Mal and Uma.

Mal had turned away from Uma, who watched expectantly. Mal put a hand on the handrail of the small bridge she was on.

"Although it seems absurd, turn your bark into a word." Mal chanted, waving the wand toward Dude.

Nothing happened for several seconds. Just silence. Alia glanced anxiously at Jay, who silently gave her a look to calm down. Taking a deep breath, Alia turned to look at Dude again.

"Talk dog." Mal ordered tensely.

"Does this vest make me look fat?" Dude whispered loudly.

Alia snorted and looked down, relief and amusement flooding through her veins. On the ship, the pirates were laughing and cheering.

"Hey, does anyone have some bacon? Cookies?" Dude continued.

Uma laughed with her crew. "Give me the wand!" she finally ordered, holding her hand out.

"Give me Ben!" Mal countered.

It was tensely silent for several moments as everyone watched the exchange. Mal and Uma stared each other down. Finally, Uma relented.

"Harry. Bring him over." Uma ordered.

Harry obeyed, dragging Ben backwards off the plank. Alia noticed Ben had to hobble and hop because his ankles were tied together. The pirates jeered at him as he passed, and Gil said something to him before Harry shoved Ben onto the bridge by Uma. Ben stumbled and fell to his knees in front of Mal.

Alia shifted her feet anxiously, her eyes glancing from Ben to Uma to Harry. Uma and Harry were smirking or pouting mockingly at Mal, probably over Ben looking up at her.

Jay bumped her elbow with his. "Calm down." he whispered hardly more than a breath.

Alia took a deep breath and forced herself to stop fidgeting.

Uma held out a hand, and Mal did the same. Neither was willing to give more than the other did. Mal wasn't handing the wand over until Ben was untied and on his feet.

"Cut him loose, Harry." Uma ordered, not even taking her eyes off Mal.

Alia watched as Harry did that, though he looked extremely disappointed. She also barely caught him complaining that he never got to have any fun. With his sword, he sliced the ropes around Ben's ankles and wrists with one swipe. Ben's hand was instantly in Mal's.

Then, Mal handed the wand over to Uma, causing all the pirates to cheer. As soon as Mal released the wand, she yanked Ben up and away from the young villains.

Alia shifted anxiously again, wanting to get away while the villains were distracted by their "victory". But Ben was fighting Mal as she tried to push him away. He clearly didn't understand that this was all part of their plan. He thought they'd just handed over the real wand.

"Guys, come on, let's go." Jay ordered. But they couldn't get very far with Ben fighting Mal.

"NO!" Alia looked toward the ship in time to see an angry Uma bring the wand down on her knee, snapping it in half like a twig. She'd figured it out.

"You do not get to win every time!" Uma shouted at Mal, who was still trying to shove Ben to safety.

"Guys!" Jay shouted, running over to the barrel he'd stashed the swords in. Carlos hung Mal's bag from a wood post and prepared to shoot the smoke bombs.

"Get them!" Uma screamed.

Jay began passing out the swords after tipping the barrel over. Carlos shot a blue smoke bomb right at the ship so that it blew up right in front of most of the pirate crew. An orange one was shot up toward the lookout post where two pirates were hanging.

"'Lia!" Jay called, tossing her a sword. Alia caught it easily by the handle just in time for several pirates to come swinging over on ropes. One pirate landed in front of her, and she brought her sword up just in time to block a strike.

Her sword clanged against her opponent's several times as they attacked and blocked each other. Finally, Alia spun around, ducked under his swinging sword, and kicked his legs out from under him. He fell to the ground and tumbled right over the edge of the dock and into the water below.

Looking around, Alia grabbed a wood handrail to pull herself onto the next level above. Evie was fighting a guy nearby, but she was handling herself fine.

Two pirates-a guy and a girl-went after Alia from different sides at that moment. When the guy swung his sword at Alia's head, she ducked, caught his sword hand with her hand and sword, and twisted the blade from the guy's grip. She then tossed the sword into the ocean far below and kicked the guy in the gut while swinging her sword at the girl.

The girl stabbed the sword at Alia, who dodged to one side. She dodged to the other side when the girl did it again. Then, she swiped her sword at the girl's sword and shoved it away so she could elbow her in the gut. The girl dropped the sword and stumbled back. Alia considered tossing the sword into the ocean, or the girl, but the girl just ran away.

Glancing around for her next opponent, Alia saw that Jay and Harry were fighting, Mal was fighting Uma, and Ben was fighting Gil. Glancing toward their escape route, Alia ran the opposite direction, toward her brother. She knew he could handle himself, and he wouldn't thank her for stepping in, but they needed to get out soon before this fight got out of hand.

Alia ran into a couple more pirates on the way and dealt with them fairly easily. She ended up using one pirate's sword to take out the other one before disarming them both. She hurried on up a short set of stairs and paused, watching her brother fight Harry.

They were doling out high kicks and swinging their swords at each other when Harry suddenly backed Jay against a rail, using both his sword and his hook to hold Jay's sword down. Alia tensed, seeing the muscles of Jay's sword-wielding arm trembling under the strain while Harry sniggered psychotically.

"When I'm done with you," Alia barely heard him say as he leaned in close to Jay's face, "I'll go after your pretty little friend."

Alia's eyes narrowed and her grip tightened on her sword handle. She knew he was talking about her. And Jay clearly did, too. Because he gritted his teeth and yelled with the effort as he forced his sword up and then down by his side, holding Harry's hook in place.

Harry swung his sword at Jay's head, but he ducked. Harry did it again the other direction, and Jay ducked it again, only this time Harry's sword stabbed into the wooden rail Jay was backed up against. Harry yanked at it, but it wouldn't budge.

Alia saw the opportunity to finish it the same moment Jay did. She grinned expectantly as Jay slammed his elbow into Harry's chest, then kicked his knee. Jay then held onto his sword with one hand and Harry's hook with the other so that when he kicked Harry's chest, Harry lost his grip on his precious hook.

Jay met Alia's eyes, and he started laughing when they both looked at the hook hanging from his sword.

Alia glanced at Harry and took a step back, not wanting him to turn the tables by trying to hold her hostage. Instead, he started to rush at Jay, but Jay hurried to the end of the dock, holding Harry's hook over the ocean.

Harry tossed his sword down and held his hand out tensely, silently surrendering. Alia waited to see what Jay would do, and honestly was not surprised when he tossed the hook into the ocean. She laughed, watching as Harry hurriedly leapt into the ocean after it while Jay hurried toward her.

"Come on, let's get out of here." Jay ordered, ushering Alia ahead of him. She turned and hurried back the way she'd come, back toward the others. A couple pirates tried to get in their way, but Alia and Jay took them out with no problems.

They ran up another short flight of stairs, Jay in the lead after Alia took out one of the pirates. They met up with Carlos and Evie; Lonnie fighting two pirates on her own easily behind them.

"Jay! Go start the car!" Carlos ordered over the clamor of fighting and swords clanging together.

"I'll meet you guys there." Evie added before turning to another fight.

Jay wasn't happy being ordered to leave the fight, but he glanced at Alia.

"Come on. You're with me." he ordered. He ran past Lonnie's fight, pulling her with them. Carlos stepped in to fight off the pirates she'd previously been fighting. Jay lead the way into the metal tunnel where they'd entered, with Lonnie following. Alia was about to follow when a soaked Harry Hook suddenly swung his sword toward her neck. Alia leapt back with a surprised yelp, only for the sword to slam into a ladder instead of her flesh.

Harry wrenched his sword from the wood and swung it at her again. Alia blocked his attacks easily, tilting her sword a different way every time he swung his sword at her. Alia then ducked and spun around behind the ladder, making Harry's sword slice through empty air. She came around behind him and kicked his back. When he swung back toward her, she was pleased to see that his smug smirk was no longer in place.

Around her, Mal was fighting Uma again, Ben fighting Gil, and Carlos and Evie fighting random pirates.

He sliced his sword down toward her head, but Alia brought her sword up to block. Her arms trembled under his stronger pressure. She heard Evie call for Carlos to toss her a smoke bomb and thought of an idea.

Alia suddenly ducked down and to the side, causing Harry to stumble and almost fall on his face. At the same moment, Ben shoved away from Gil, and Mal from Uma. Evie, perched on a nearby ladder, threw down a purple smoke bomb.

Alia backed up, away from the spreading purple smoke. It now separated her, Evie, Carlos, Mal, and Ben from the pirate crew, but it wouldn't last long.

Mal yelled for Ben to go, but Alia didn't need to be told. She turned and raced across the small bridge and through the metal tunnel. Her boots clanged dully with every step as she ran. She heard people behind her and picked up the pace.

Lonnie was waiting at the other end of the tunnel, and Alia jumped down from the tunnel, racing across the pavement toward the limo. She tossed her sword into the open trunk and hurried around to the back door of the limo. She opened it and climbed inside, scooting as far in as she could and ending up with her back facing the front of the limo. Jay was in the driver's seat, already having the car running.

"Come on, Dude. Hop in." Carlos ordered once he reached the back door Alia had left open. Dude hopped in effortlessly. "Now you listen to me." Carlos commented dryly. Alia chuckled, letting the little dog climb into her lap so she could snuggle him and scratch behind his ears.

A few moments later, Evie came racing over and climbed into the backseat, scooting in to sit next to Alia. Carlos climbed in after her, and Dude pattered over Alia and Evie's laps to sit on Carlos's.

"Where're Lonnie, Ben, and Mal?" Alia asked, craning her neck around to try and see.

"Lonnie's in charge of making sure all the swords are in the trunk, and then she'll get in up front." Jay called through the partition.

"And I see Ben at the tunnel." Carlos added, looking out the still-open door. A few moments later, Mal and Ben came running up. Both tossed their swords into the trunk before climbing into the backseat. The trunk slammed shut and Lonnie ran around the limo to climb into the front passenger seat. Ben slammed the door shut behind him and Jay pulled the limo into drive.

Everyone slouched in their seats, taking the moment to catch their breath. Alia tried not to look directly across the limo from herself at where Ben and Mal were exchanging awkward glances.

"I'm really sorry that things didn't turn out the way you wanted them to." Ben finally broke the awkward silence, looking over at Mal.

Mal stared at him for a moment. "I mean,…as long as you're safe, that's…" she trailed off, seeming unsure of what to say. Alia realized this was probably the first time they'd spoken since she dumped him-again-in the Vks' hideout.

"I mean, at least I got to see the Isle." Ben pointed out. "They're my people, too. Uma helped me see that."

Alia glanced at the others. She understood what Ben was saying. She finally got to see how her brother-and his friends-grew up. She briefly stayed where they'd spent most of their time, and went head-to-head with people they'd fought with.

Mal clearly didn't agree with him.

"Ben-Uma captured you." Mal pointed out.

"She's an angry girl with a bad plan." Ben pointed out, making Mal look at him in disbelief. "That's not so different from you when you came to Auradon, Mal."

Alia's eyes widened and her brow shot into her hairline. She quickly glanced away so as not to look at Mal's upset expression. She glanced at Evie and Carlos, who looked just as uncomfortable. Then-

"Awkward." Dude called.

Alia winced and Evie leaned forward as if to silence the dog, but Carlos was already talking to him.

"Dude, I know you can talk, but that doesn't always mean you should."

The awkward silence thickened as the drive dragged on. No one spoke again until Jay hit the button on the remote, causing the barrier to let them through and the limo to drive over the magical bridge leading back to Auradon.

"Hey, Alia, Lonnie." Jay called as he drove. "Why don't you two stop by practice later?"

Alia twisted around to look curiously through the partition at them.

"Why?" she asked.

"You in the mood to break some rules?" Lonnie asked with a grin, clearly referring to the 'no girls on the team' rule.

Jay laughed. "No."


	13. Chapter 13

"So, why do you think Jay wants us at practice?" Lonnie asked from across her and Alia's shared dorm room.

"I'm not sure." Alia admitted slowly, not liking that she didn't know what was going through her brother's head. He'd said he wasn't going to break the rules, which meant he wasn't putting her and Lonnie on the team, but why else would he ask them to be at practice?

They'd returned to Auradon, and the school, around one o'clock that afternoon. Lonnie and Alia had volunteered to return the swords to the gym, mainly to give Jay and the others some time to talk. Given it was a Saturday, the school yard was crowded with students waiting for appointments to get ready for Cotillion that night. If it weren't for a Swords and Shields meet against the Imperial Academy approaching in the next week, Jay wouldn't have even had practice. As it was, he did. So, Lonnie stayed in her uniform and Alia changed into an outfit similar, with blue jogging pants and a white hoodie.

When it was almost time for the practice to start, Alia and Lonnie headed to the amphitheatre where practices were held. When they got there, it was to find Jay already there with Li'l Shang.

"Hey." Shang greeted the girls with a grin. "I hear you two have had quite the adventure already today."

Alia and Lonnie both shrugged modestly.

"Maybe a small one." Lonnie joked. Jay chuckled, shaking his head in amusement.

"So, why did you want us here?" Alia asked her brother.

Jay exchanged a smirk with Li'l Shang, which made Alia suspicious and curious. "You'll have to wait until the team gets here. Li'l Shang's got an announcement." Jay told them.

Alia could tell there was nothing more she could say to get some answers out of her twin, so her and Lonnie sat on one of the blue and yellow blocks around the arena to wait for the team to show up. It wasn't long before the others started trickling in, sitting or standing around the arena. Carlos grinned at Alia and Lonnie in greeting when he came to stand by them, Dude sitting by his feet.

"Alright, guys, before practice starts, Li'l Shang has an announcement." Jay told them before stepping to the side, giving Shang the floor. Shang stood in a military-like pose; hands behind his back and feet shoulder-width apart, his black hair swept messily across his forehead.

Before he could speak, however, Chad called obnoxiously, "Why are _they_ here?" His question, of course, referred to Lonnie and Alia.

"I'll answer that, Charming," Shang told him calmly, "if you'll keep your mouth shut long enough for me to talk."

A couple guys snickered while Chad glowered around at everyone.

"Alright, I'm sure by now, the gossip has spread through most of the school, but for those who may not have heard, there was a bit of an incident on the Isle of the Lost." Shang continued. "Ben went to the Isle of the Lost, with Jay, Evie, Carlos, and Alia for protection."

Alia kept her eyes fixed on Shang, but notched her chin up slightly when she felt several eyes turn to stare at her.

"While there, Ben was captured by some villains who asked for Fairy Godmother's magic wand in exchange for Ben. Mal, Lonnie, and everyone I named before developed a plan and successfully rescued Ben and brought him back home safely."

The team broke out in applause and cheers. Tanner, standing nearby, patted Carlos on the back. Alia smiled slightly, trying not to duck her head in embarrassment.

"With that being said, I have my announcement." Shang continued when everyone fell quiet. "After they returned to Auradon, Jay approached me with a suggestion. And I agree with him, so I contacted quite a few people to discuss the issue.

"That issue,…is girls being allowed on the tourney team."

 _"What?!"_ Chad exclaimed in horror. His was the only reaction of the kind, however. Most of the team just glanced among themselves, shrugging or murmuring in agreement, and a couple nodded or grinned.

"That's against the rules!" Chad argued. "We have to follow the rules or we're no better than the Isle of the Lost!"

"And rules can be changed, Chad." Shang reminded him sternly. "Girls played just as big a part in Ben's rescue today as boys did. Jay, why don't you give a few of the details you gave me when we discussed this earlier?"

Shang stepped to the side, allowing Jay to take the middle of the floor again.

"Well, as far as what has to do with the Swords and Shields team, we had to go against a pirate crew on the Isle. Which of course involved some pretty dangerous sword fights." Jay explained. "On our side, we had me, Ben, and Carlos, and Mal, Evie, Alia, and Lonnie. We all held our own and were hugely outnumbered, but that didn't stop us from getting away. I'd also like to point out, Alia and Lonnie both did exceptionally well in the fight, both taking on more than one opponent at a time."

"I'd also like to point out," Carlos called, raising his gloved hand slightly, "I saw Alia take on the son of Captain Hook. That guy is slightly insane, and _huge_."

Alia blushed, looking around the room to avoid meeting anyone's eyes.

Jay smirked between his best friend and sister. "Thank you, Carlos. Anyway, Shang, if you want to continue." Jay stepped back again, moving to stand by the block Lonnie and Alia were perched on. Shang retook the floor.

"Anyway, with that in mind, I agree wholeheartedly with Jay. This isn't the olden days. If women can be in the army, like my mom, there's no reason they can't be on a school sports team. I brought it up to quite a few people in the school, like Coach, King Ben, and Fairy Godmother. We also discussed it with people around Auradon, including Queen Merida, Li Shang and Mulan, and Captain Phoebus. They all agree. In fact, my father said he'd be changing the rules at the Imperial Academy immediately and accepting girls at the next Swords and Shields tryouts. Coach has informed me we will be doing the same."

"So, what-girls can just join the team now?" Chad called incredulously, his lip curled.

"This rule is intended to give girls a fair chance." Shang stated. "They won't get special treatment, they will be given a chance. That being said, we have two spots on our team to fill. Lonnie, Alia," Shang turned to look at the two girls, who straightened in surprise, "ready to earn your spot on the team?"

To earn a spot on the Swords and Shields team, one has to face the other members on the team in a match. They don't have to necessarily win every match, they merely have to prove themselves capable of being formidable members of the team.

Lonnie went first, eventually beating every member of the team except Herkie and Jay, and ending in a draw with Lin, who appeared to know all her moves. Makes sense, since they grew up together. It was unanimously agreed, apart from Chad sulking, that Lonnie was a member of the team.

Alia went next, taking on everyone one-on-one. She beat Chad, Herkie, Lin, and Zephyr. Her and Carlos had fun in their match before she beat him, too. Tanner beat her, and she was evenly matched against Jay until he got the upper hand and beat her. Like Lonnie, Alia was made an official member of the team.

When everyone was finished and sitting in a semicircle around Jay and Li'l Shang again, Shang drew the practice to a close.

"Alright. That was a shorter practice than usual, but we'll just have to work extra hard on Monday. So, get out of here and get yourselves ready for Cotillion." he ordered. A few of the guys whooped as everyone got up.

While most of the team tossed their swords in a pile on the mat and hurried from the amphitheatre, Alia stuck around until nearly everyone was gone and began gathering up all the swords.

"I can get that." Shang told her as she tucked the swords under her armpit. "You should go get ready for Cotillion."

Alia rolled her eyes. "Seeing as how I'm officially a member of the team," she stated proudly, "I may as well start pulling my weight now." She glanced towards the door, catching sight of Lonnie and Jay bringing up the rear of the group leaving. The two were talking excitedly about something and it made her grin slightly. "Wanna make a bet on whether or not those two will show up to Cotillion together?"

Shang followed her gaze and snorted. "Not really. Your brother's a bit of a player."

Alia rolled her eyes. "Be that as it may, Jay respects Lonnie immensely. More so than the ditzes that fall over themselves to get him to look at them. He would never disrespect your sister."

Shang shook his head in amusement, grinning slightly. "Different topic. Don't you need to get ready?"

Alia grinned playfully. "Are you implying it takes me," she glanced at the clock on the far wall, " _three_ hours to get ready?"

"Not at all." Shang chuckled. "I just know girls like to spend a lot of time getting ready for these things. And I still find it hard to believe you don't have a date."

Alia rolled her eyes. "Well, believe it. I'm just going with friends."

"I just find it impossible to believe that no one asked you." To some, that statement might've been insulting, especially if Alia had truly not been asked. But the honest surprise in Shang's tone and expression somehow made it not insulting.

Alia shrugged. "Well, a few guys did ask me." she admitted. "I said no to them."

Shang eyed her for a few moments, seeming to decide how to respond. "Why'd you say no?" he asked curiously.

Alia chuckled, tucking a stray piece of black hair behind her ear. "Well,…I either didn't know them, or they…had ulterior motives."

Shang nodded. "Ah. Ulterior motives that might involve the team Captain?" he guessed lightly.

Alia narrowed her eyes at him. "I didn't take you for the gossip type."

Shang chuckled. "Oh, I'm not. But I think everyone involved in the Swords and Shields team heard about Jay's little _ban_ on it's members dating you or asking you to Cotillion."

Alia rolled her eyes dramatically. "He's promised to work on not being so overprotective."

Shang chuckled. "Good luck with that. It's only natural for big brothers to want to protect their little sisters."

Alia smiled at him, tilting her head slightly. "I suppose you would understand that, huh? And he's _not_ my big brother!" she added, pretending to be frustrated. "He's four minutes older than me!"

Shang laughed. "Like that makes a difference?" he joked, heading for the storage area in the locker-rooms. Alia followed him with the swords under her arm. He helped her put them away before they left together, heading down the hallway.

"So, would you say yes if the right guy asked you to Cotillion, or are your standards too high?" Shang asked lightly.

Alia bumped her elbow into his. "Very funny. Yes, I would say yes if the right guy asked me. My standards aren't high, I just want…If I were to date someone, he would have to be someone who would see me as an equal, not just a pretty princess."

Shang grinned at her, nodding slightly. "Well, good for you. Do you want to go to Cotillion with me?"

Alia stared up at him in surprise, trying to decide if he was being serious. "Um, you mean…as your date?" she asked uncertainly.

"Yeah." he answered simply.

Alia grinned sheepishly, glancing down at the ground before looking back up at him. "Yeah, I'd like that."

Shang's grin widened. "Great. So, how about we meet at the front of the school at…6:30?"

Alia smiled in return, though she tried to control it. "I look forward to it."


	14. Chapter 14

Alia rushed to the door of her dorm when someone knocked and yanked it open. She smiled at Evie and Doug in relief.

"Special delivery!" Evie declared joyfully, waving her arm at the rack of dresses her and Doug had clearly pushed there.

"Thank you so much for dropping them off." Alia told her, holding the door open enough for them to enter with the rack of dresses. Lonnie joined them from the bathroom, where she'd been doing her hair, which she was crimping. "I could've picked them up if it was too much work."

"It's no problem. Now, let's see…" Evie shifted through the rack of dresses before pulling out a pink outfit and passing it to Lonnie. "Here's yours, Lonnie. And here's," Evie pulled a light purple dress from the rack, "yours, Alia."

"Oh, my gosh, thank you so much! It's beautiful!" Alia gushed, looking down at the dress.

"You're more than welcome. While I'm here," Evie continued, pulling up her red heart-shaped purse. "I have a few accessories in here. If you'd like to look through them and see if there's any you like, they're free."

Alia watched curiously as Evie pulled out handfuls of bracelets, necklaces, and headbands from her purse and laying them out on Alia's desk. "Why are they free?" she asked curiously.

"Well, you remember us mentioning Dizzy, back on the Isle?"

"Drizella's daughter? The one who's like your sister?" Alia checked.

"The same one." Evie nodded. "She designed all of these, and wanted me to take them with me. I figure, giving these to people for Cotillion, it would be like giving her a chance like I got." Evie admitted.

Alia smiled, looking through the jewelry next to Lonnie. She was determined to pick one after everything she'd heard of Dizzy. The girl was clearly talented. All her pieces were made of things she salvaged on the Isle, and yet they still looked unique and amazing.

Shifting through them, Alia's eyes caught sight of a thick gold piece. Picking it up carefully, Alia smiled as she examined the bracelet. Gold wires had been woven into thick cords and coiled until they formed a snake that wrapped around twice until the end narrowed into the tip of a tail. The snake's head was formed by the woven wires being bent into what looked like a snake's pointed head, and in the little space was a white jewel.

"I take it you found one you like?" Evie guessed knowingly, playfully resting her elbow on Alia's shoulder. "That one kind of reminds me of your brother."

Alia grinned, glancing at her. "That's just what I was thinking. I'll have this one. Are you sure you don't want me to pay for it?" she checked.

"Yep. Just tell anyone who asks or comments on it who made it." Evie requested.

"Deal." Alia agreed.

Lonnie picked out a bracelet for herself, and Evie left them to continue getting ready. Lonnie helped Alia braid her black hair into a thick, loose French braid that almost went to the middle of her back. With that done, Alia pulled on her dress. It was a light purple, modern Arabian-styled dress. It was loose-fitting and went to the floor, but cinched at the waist. White beads were in intricate designs around the neckline and the edges of the sleeves. Similar white beads also decorated the waist, almost looking like a belt and emphasizing the cinched waist. The sleeves were loose and elbow-length. She finished off the look with gold Arabian sandals with a small heel, and finally, her new snake bracelet on her left wrist.

"Well, I'm done." Alia decided, looking herself over in the mirror to make sure.

"Me, too." Lonnie agreed just as someone knocked on the door. Alia answered the door, since she was closer. She smiled in greeting at her brother. Jay was dressed in a red, blue, and gold leather jacket, black fingerless gloves, and tan pants. His brown hair was pulled up in a bun.

"Hi. What're you doing here?" she asked curiously even as she stepped back to let him in.

"Um, well,…Can't I walk you girls to the carriages?" he asked rhetorically. Alia narrowed her eyes suspiciously. That felt eerily like a lie.

"Sure you could. But why are you _really_ here?" Alia asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Scared to admit it to her?" Lonnie joked, smirking at him with her own arms crossed smugly.

"Admit what to me?" Alia asked suspiciously, looking between the two.

Jay sighed in defeat. "Well,…you remember how I was planning on going to Cotillion solo?"

Alia nodded. "Yeah, what-Oh!" Her eyes went wide as she caught on. "You and…?" she trailed off, pointing at Lonnie. Jay nodded, watching her warily. "I knew it!" she squealed, jumping up and hugging her brother excitedly.

"You knew it?" Jay repeated, chucking even though he sounded bewildered as he hesitantly hugged her back. "What do you mean 'you knew it'?"

"Well, come on, it makes sense." Alia reasoned, stepping away from him again. "I can't see you seriously being with some prissy princess. You need a girl who…challenges you. Who can stand up for herself. Hence, Lonnie." she finished, gesturing toward her best friend.

Jay rolled his eyes. "You put way too much thought into that. Are you two ready to go?"

"Yep." Lonnie agreed.

Alia hesitated, unsure if she should go on her own, since she was supposed to meet Shang at the front of the school. They were all going to the same place, but she wasn't sure how Jay would handle finding out she had a date, especially a date he couldn't successfully intimidate.

"'Lia?" Jay urged, waiting just outside the door with Lonnie. They were both watching her curiously.

"Uh, yeah, I'm coming." Alia agreed, hurrying after them and closing the door behind her.

She could see Jay and Lonnie both casting her curious glances as the three walked through the hallways and down flights of stairs, but she pretended she didn't.

"So, I thought Carlos was going with you." she commented to Jay as they approached the front doors of the castle. She was trying, and probably failing, to hide her nerves from her brother.

"He was. But then he _finally_ got up the nerve to ask Jane." Jay told her.

"Finally!" Alia exclaimed, laughing slightly.

Jay got to the door first and held it open for the girls, who thanked him as they all stepped outside. The sun had recently set, so the stars were coming out in the navy sky and the air was warm. Parked in lines on the road in front of the school were horse-drawn carriages. Several students in suits and gowns stood in groups, getting into the carriages, and a couple were already leaving.

Alia's eyes swept the people in sight until she spotted Shang waiting near one of the carriages. He was dressed in a black modern Chinese-style suit, and the jacket had a red dragon design on the left side of his chest.

"Uh, well, I'll see you two at the boat." Alia quickly told Jay and Lonnie before starting to leave.

"Whoa, wait, I thought you were going with us." Jay spoke up before she could get away.

Alia bit her lip before facing him. "Um,…about that…" She trailed off awkwardly, but Jay and Lonnie both seemed to get it.

Lonnie's eyes widened slightly before she covered her mouth, which had begun to smile. Jay, whose eyes had also gone wide, gaped at his sister.

"You can't be serious." he denied. "You got a date?" he asked incredulously. "How could you have gotten a date? You said you didn't have one!"

"Well, then someone asked me a few hours ago." Alia answered.

 _"Who?"_ Jay demanded.

Alia clasped her hands under her chin, biting her lip before saying, "You can't get mad at him, or threaten him, or intimidate him because he's older than you…and you're going to Cotillion with his sister. So chill out."

With that, Alia turned and hurried away toward Shang. She could hear Lonnie laughing behind her, but she didn't stop until she reached her date. Shang was watching her with an amused grin.

"So, I take it Jay's not pleased?" he guessed playfully.

Alia rolled her eyes. "I told him he can't get mad because he's going with your sister."

"Good point." Shang agreed. He glanced over her shoulder and stood up straight. Alia followed his gaze and saw Jay and Lonnie approaching them. Lonnie looked amused, but Jay looked wary as he glanced between his sister and Shang.

"Jay." Shang greeted him. "You guys excited for the Cotillion?"

"Hey, Li'l Shang." Jay returned the greeting. "Yeah, we're pretty excited." he answered, appearing to try and look at ease.

"Is Mal going to be there?" Alia asked, partially to direct the conversation away from her and Shang.

Jay sighed and gave a small shrug. "I think so. I told her to at least come to Cotillion, and if she still doesn't want to be here, I'll take her back to the Isle tomorrow."

Alia smiled sympathetically. "Well, I hope she decides to stay."

Jay nodded before looking at Shang again. "So,…is this a 'friend date' or…?" he trailed off waving a hand between Shang and Alia.

Alia glanced awkwardly down at her feet, unsure if she should answer or leave it to Shang. However, she didn't need to worry because Shang answered before she had to think about it.

"We'll see how the night goes. I have too much respect for Alia to force her into something she's not comfortable with. We're friends, we respect each other, I care about her, and if more comes from it, that'll be up to us. Now, I could ask you the same question." Shang continued with a glance between Jay and Lonnie. "Is _this_ a 'friend date'?"

Jay and Lonnie exchanged a glance.

"Same thing, really." Jay admitted with a shrug. "We both respect each other, and we'll see how the night goes."

Shang nodded, satisfied. "Good. Then we're in agreement. Do you two want to share a stretch carriage down to the docks?"

They all agreed and got in the nearest carriage, beginning the ride toward the docks.

 **XXX**

 **Yay for overprotective big brothers!**

 **Let me know what you all thought of this chapter!**

 **Also, has anyone else seen the teaser trailer for** _ **Descendants 3**_ **?! I flipped out and started squealing! I can't wait for it to come out! Who knows? Maybe the plot could give me inspiration for a** _ **Stolen Half 3**_ **? Of course, that's a good year and a half away. We'll see how it goes.**


	15. Chapter 15

When the carriages arrived at the docks, Shang helped Alia down from the carriage, and Jay did the same with Lonnie. There was a blue carpet leading onto the yacht Cotillion was being held on, and a mass of paparazzi was already swarming everyone who boarded, taking photos and shouting questions.

"Time to face the sharks." Alia joked as Shang offered her his arm to escort her. She glanced back at her brother. "Try not to hog all the attention out there, Jay."

"I can't help it the cameras love me." Jay joked back.

The group crossed the harbor and approached the already-gathered group of Cotillion guests who had to cross the "blue carpet" one at a time. When it was their turn, Shang lead Alia out in front of the flashing cameras. They smiled politely and paused for pictures, but didn't stay long. Several of the photographers were asking about their "relationship", and Alia and Shang didn't want to answer those kinds of questions from nosy paparazzi. So, they quickly took their leave and boarded the boat. Music was already playing loudly from a DJ and a crowd was already dancing, round lanterns strung out above their heads. They saw several famous parents like obviously Belle and Beast, Naveen and Tiana, and Ariel and Eric. Alia even saw her childhood best friend, Jordan, Genie's daughter, with her camera near the DJ booth.

"So, what do you want to do first?" Shang asked as they reached the bottom of the steps that lead down to the deck of the ship. "Eat, dance, abandon ship?"

Alia laughed. "Um," she hesitated, glancing around at the people having the time of their lives on the dance floor. She wasn't normally socially awkward, but despite her confidence in not needing a boyfriend, she'd never actually been on any form of a date. She wasn't sure what to do. She was comfortable around Shang in a sword fight, but the dance floor?

"That last one sure is tempting." she joked.

Shang looked down at her, narrowing his eyes thoughtfully even as he continued to smile at her.

"Not exactly in your element?" he guessed.

"You'd think I would be," Alia agreed, "being a princess and all. I should be fairly comfortable in this kind of setting. But no, not really."

Shang nodded in understanding. Then, without another word, he took her hand and gently pulled her into the crowd. Alia guessed he was going to get her to dance, but she wasn't expecting him to quickly spin her under his arm. She laughed in surprise and let herself relax, dancing to the upbeat music like the rest of the crowd. She would catch glimpses of her friends; Jay dancing with Lonnie, Carlos and Jane talking with Fairy Godmother, and Doug dancing with Evie, but she mainly focused on having a good time with Shang.

When the music ended, everyone stopped dancing and applauded. Alia and Shang turned to look up at the row of steps on one end of the boat, where one of the King's royal servants, who Alia guessed was Lumiere, had appeared at the top. The rows of men with long, gold horns raised their instruments and played a short tune to grab everyone's attention. A spotlight shone on Lumiere.

"The future Lady Mal." he declared.

Alia glanced at Shang before grabbing his hand and pulling him through the crowd, weaving in and out of people until she reached the front of the crowd. She stopped near Evie and Doug, Jay and Lonnie joining them the same time Carlos and Jane stopped on Evie's other side. Alia exchanged a grin with a couple of them before they all focused on the top of the stairs.

Lumiere stepped out of the spotlight as Mal stepped out of a back room and turned to face everyone. People gasped and awed at the sight of her. Her dress had been changed since Alia first saw it a few days ago. Her shoulders, no longer bare, were covered by a blue fabric that lead to a long cape, and there were more blue designs decorating the front of the dress. The front edge of the dress had been trimmed so Mal's legs were visible. She had on blue, leather fingerless gloves up to her elbows. Her light purple hair was in an intricate braid over one shoulder.

Alia smiled, feeling sympathetic when she noticed how tense and terrified Mal looked as she stepped to the top of the stairs. Lumiere leaned down and said something in Mal's ear, which made Mal relax a bit and laugh.

Evie applauded enthusiastically, which kick-started a round of applause around the ship. Alia joined in, as well, cheering Mal's name with the others.

Mal descended the stairs, and former-King Adam, Ben's dad, stepped up a couple stairs to give her a hand down the steps. While Mal talked quietly with her boyfriend's parents, Shang leaned down to talk quietly near Alia's ear.

"So, do you think she'll chose to stay in Auradon?"

"I hope so." Alia returned, looking up at him. "Her and Ben are good for each other. Mal just needs to be able to be herself, and she needs to feel safe to do that here. After everything that's happened the past couple days, Ben should understand that better than ever."

Shang nodded, his eyes moving back toward Mal, Belle, and Beast. Evie had stepped up and politely bowed to the royal couple before taking Mal's hand and helping her down the last couple steps and leading her until she was surrounded by her friends. Alia heard her admit to Evie that she felt like she was going to throw up. Alia smiled reassuringly at Mal over Evie's shoulder as the blue-haired girl reminded Mal that they were all right there with her.

The trumpets began playing again as Ben appeared at the top of the stairs in the spotlight. Everyone applauded and then bowed as the young King stepped to the stop of the stairs. Alia noticed Ben looking down at Mal, and when she glanced over she saw Mal smiling happily back up at him. When Ben began to descend the stairs, Mal stepped forward to meet him. Alia expected a fairly warm greeting, but Ben merely bowed at the waist, a greeting that Mal returned.

When Ben stood up straight again, and Alia got a look at his face, she knew something wasn't right. He looked…uncomfortable.

"Mal," he started uncertainly, "I wish I had time to explain."

Alia's smile fell as everyone followed Ben's gaze back to the top of the stairs. Lumiere once again stepped out of the spotlight so that someone else could step into it.

Alia's mouth fell open, unsure what to think of this bombshell as Uma walked to the edge of the stairs. Her turquoise braids were up in a bun and she was wearing a dress that matched her hair color with glints of gold, and black fingerless gloves.

Alia glanced over at Jay and realized everyone was glancing among themselves uncertainly, whispering together and asking what was happening. Clearly, no one had expected this. Jay met Alia's eyes before looking worriedly past her. Alia followed his eyes to look at Mal. She looked shocked and heartbroken, her mouth open and green eyes glistening.

Alia looked back at Ben, who was moving up the stairs to help Uma down the rest of the steps.

"Do you know who that is?" Shang asked her quietly.

"Uma." she answered distractedly. She was desperately hoping that Ben was just being his trusting, giving self. He'd shown a desire on the way back from the Isle to give Uma a chance, like he'd done with Mal and the others. Maybe that's what this was.

But that hope was shattered as Ben and Uma reached the bottom of the stairs and Ben kissed Uma's hand, which was wearing Ben's ring.

Alia's blood went cold as she looked between Ben, Auradon's King, and Uma, the girl who'd been threatening to kill Ben if she didn't get the wand. Uma gave an uncharacteristic giggle as Ben stood up straight and took her other hand, helping her down the rest of the stairs so they could approach Mal. Alia didn't think she'd ever seen Mal look so broken as she looked between her boyfriend and her enemy. A quick glance around showed that the rest of the guests looked just as shocked, and even a bit upset.

Ben approached Mal and began to try to explain himself. Alia thought it was a bit unnecessary, like salt in the wound, for him and Uma to talk about there being a connection while they were together on the Isle. And then for Uma to throw out the word "love", it was like she was throwing her victory in Mal's face. And then for Ben and Uma to giggle and stare into each other's eyes right in front of Mal's face, it made Alia feel sick.

She almost couldn't tear her eyes from the heartbreaking scene, but Alia forced herself to look over at her brother. Jay looked just as upset as she was as he watched Mal, one of his best friends, fall apart.

When Uma grabbed Mal's hand and thanked her for "everything", Alia visibly cringed. Mal looked so uncomfortable and almost scared, especially when Uma hugged her. It was like she was in physical pain.

Shang put a hand on Alia's shoulder and leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Is this making any sense to you?"

Alia turned her head a bit to answer quietly, "Even less than it does to you." she admitted. It was true. After the little bit Jay had told her of Mal and Uma's history, Uma _thanking_ Mal made almost no sense in the world.

"Don't you see, Mal?" Ben said when Uma pulled away from her hug with Mal. "You were right. You knew that we weren't meant to be together. That's why you never told me that you loved me."

Alia gaped at Ben, almost disgusted by how he was acting. This didn't seem right. Ben wasn't _this_ naive. He had to know how much he was hurting Mal.

Mal looked like the breath had been knocked out of her, and Alia noticed that, while Uma was smiling happily, she cut her eyes at Mal with an almost smug smirk.

Slow music began playing, which Alia shortly recognized as the song "Kiss the Girl" and Uma passed her purse to a random girl in the crowd before Ben pulled her into a slow dance. Everyone in the crowd stood back and watched, but nearly everyone looked awkward and kept glancing over at Mal. In the last six months, Mal had earned many people's respect, especially the people who saw her regularly at school, so many of them were clearly shell-shocked and upset by this turn of events.

Evie stepped out of the crowd and approached Mal, gently pulling her back toward her friends. She was placed between Evie and Carlos, who each put an arm around her back.

Shang stepped back so that Alia could step closer to her friends, and Jay and Lonnie moved closer to give their support, too.

"Not too thrilled I _risked my life_ for him." Carlos stated, just loud enough as if he was hoping Ben would hear him.

Lonnie moved around behind them so that she stood behind Mal. "We're with you, Mal."

Ben and Uma continued to twirl around the floor in their own little world, both looking blissfully happy and completely unaware of the drama they'd caused.

Jay's elbow suddenly bumped Alia's back as he hurried around behind her and the others to reach Mal's opposite side. Alia looked over at his face and easily read his lips as he said, "Let's get out of here," even if she couldn't quite hear him. She also read the anger in his expression when he glanced at Ben and Uma. The protective big brother was clearly on the surface, this time to defend Mal instead of Alia.

Jane ran around the dancing couple toward Lumiere, and the others followed her, giving Ben and Uma a wide berth. Jay lead Mal toward the stairs.

Alia looked back at Shang. She wanted to follow her friends to make sure Mal would be okay, but she felt bad leaving her date alone. But Shang gave her an understanding smile and a nod, silently telling her to go. Alia gave him a grateful smile before hurrying around one side after Evie, Lonnie, and Doug.

The group headed up the stairs, Jay in the lead with his arm around Mal's back. Before they could completely get away, however, the spotlight shone on Lumiere and Jane at the top of the stairs.

"And now," Lumiere called, causing the music to stop and Ben and Uma to stop dancing, " for the unveiling of King Ben's masterpiece, designed especially for his Lady."

Everyone glanced among themselves in confusion before looking back across the boat, up toward the top of the other staircase. There, two men pulled a cloth veil from a large gold frame. Within the frame was a beautiful stained glass image of Ben and Mal. Ben was in his blue suit with his crown on his head, and he was looking up at Mal, who was dressed in a beautiful purple gown with her long, purple hair blowing behind her and her eyes a bright green.

She looked like the old Mal. The _real_ Mal.

Alia's mouth fell open in a wide smile. People all around were gasping, 'aw'ing, and clapping. Girls were freaking out and squealing.

Alia glanced down at Ben and Uma in the center of the boat. Uma didn't look happy. Alia couldn't see Ben's face, since she was behind him, but he'd taken a couple steps closer to the picture and was looking up at it.

"Ben did that?" Mal asked quietly from behind. Her voice was quiet and tearful.

"Yeah, he did." Evie answered.

Mal gave a tearful laugh and Alia looked over her shoulder and up the stairs with a smile. It was agreed between the girls that it was true love.

"Told you." Carlos stated, making the girls laugh.

At that moment, Uma stormed back towards them and ordered harshly, "Cover that back up!"

"I will _not_!" Lumiere retorted in offence.

A few people gasped and murmured among themselves as every eye turned to stare suspiciously at Uma, who seemed to realize her mistake as she glanced around the crowd.

Giving a nervous laugh, Uma turned back to Ben. "Why don't you tell everyone the present you have for _me_ , Ben?" she suggested.

Alia narrowed her eyes, not liking where this was going.

Ben stared at her before announcing for everyone to hear, "I have an announcement!" He held his hand out, and Uma took it as she stepped to his side. "Uma will be joining the court tonight as my Lady."

"Son-" Ben's father tried to protest.

"Not NOW Dad!" Ben shouted angrily.

Everyone stared in shock. Sure, due to Beast's curse Ben had some residual genetic beast-like tendencies, like a short temper on occasion, but he usually had much better control than that.

"So, as my gift to her," Ben continued, looking into Uma's eyes, "I'm bringing down the barrier once and for all!"

Everyone gasped and gaped in horror. Alia's head whipped around to look over her shoulder and up at Jay, who met her eyes with as much horror. She also exchanged glances with Evie, Mal, and Lonnie; everyone was horrified. Alia's first thought was of Jafar. Sure, she'd handled him well enough on the Isle, but if he was set free his scepter would give him powers.

"Fairy Godmother," Ben called, redirecting everyone's attention back to him, "bring down the barrier." he ordered.

"I most certainly will not." Fairy Godmother refused.

"I am your king!" Ben exclaimed.

"Obey him." Uma ordered.

Everyone gasped at Uma's rudeness.

"Ben's been spelled." Mal announced quietly so only the few people around her could hear.

Now, Alia saw the young king in a new light, and she knew Mal was right. Yes, he wanted to see the good in everyone, but he would never blindly do what someone told him if he was in his right mind. Especially something as drastic as tearing down the barrier. Giving a couple people a chance, sure, but he would never release every evil villain on the island. And as they were watching, Uma pulled Ben's attention back to her, making him look into her eyes while she spoke quietly to him.

A moment later, Mal stepped down the last step, away from her friends and toward Ben and Uma. "Ben." she called. She walked the short distance until she stood in front of Ben. While she spoke to him, Uma did everything she could to keep Ben's attention off Mal and on herself.

While Mal gave a short speech about how she loved Ben because she knew what love felt like now, Alia's eyes accidentally found Li'l Shang across the deck. She couldn't help briefly wondering if she loved him. She didn't think so, at least not yet. He was her friend, someone who viewed her as an equal instead of a princess. Someone who respected her, and respected her brother and family, and whom her brother respected in return.

She'd grown up knowing she didn't need a prince, or a true love of any kind. And her life was full of love as it was, with her family and friends. She didn't need a boyfriend, someone to love her and make her feel good about herself. But she had to admit, it would be nice. Especially if that someone was Shang.

Everyone 'aw'ing brought Alia from her thoughts and her mouth fell open as she realized Mal and Ben were kissing. Alia had to put her hands over her mouth to smother a squeal.

When the couple pulled away, Ben was looking down at Mal with a loving smile on his face, and it was clear that the love spell had been broken.

The moment ended when Uma suddenly turned and lunged for Fairy Godmother's wand. Alia put herself between the two and struggled with Uma, grabbing her wrists when she tried to fight back.

"Guards! Seize her!" Fairy Godmother screamed from behind Alia. Practically being in Uma's face, Alia saw her anger turn to near-panic. Ripping her arms from Alia's grasp, Uma turned and ran toward the railing of the boat. Nearly every guest ran after her, as if they might hope to stop her from escaping, but Mal, at the front of the crowd, yelled at everyone to stop. This left Uma backed up against the railing like a wounded, cornered animal while everyone stood in a half-circle around her. Alia wasn't sure what Uma's plan was, but she remembered her saying earlier that she was a strong swimmer. But where would she swim if she got away?

"Uma, I know you." Mal told her. "You are so much more than just a villain. And you have to believe me, because I've been there. Do not let your pride get in the way of something that you really want."

Uma glanced anxiously from Mal to Ben and back again. Then, she looked down.

Alia looked down, as well. There was a gold seashell necklace on her chest, and it started glowing.

Uma looked up at Mal once more, and it was still for a few seconds. Then, Uma climbed the railing and leapt into the ocean. Everyone ran to the railing, looking down into the dark water below. Alia had squeezed her way between Ben and Jay and was scanning the water frantically. She doubted Uma was in any danger down there, but what could her plan possibly be?

Then, the spot Uma had disappeared into the water began glowing. The water began swirling. It twisted and began to rise. Everyone's eyes went up and up as they watched the water grow and twist until it was bigger than the boat.

Then, it burst, sending water in a huge wave washing over the deck of the boat. It sent everyone stumbling back under the pressure. Alia stumbled into Jay, who helped her stay upright.

An evil cackle that was reminiscent of Ursula the sea witch echoed loudly in the night as everyone hesitantly stood up straight, dripping with sea water. Moving back to the ship railing, everyone looked down to see that Uma was no longer the size of a normal human, and she was no longer _human_.

"I thought you said she wasn't an octopus." Alia whispered to Jay.

"I didn't think she was." Jay whispered back.

Uma was now huge and had octopus tentacles.

This just got _really_ bad.


	16. Chapter 16

"True loves kiss won't defeat this!" Uma crowed, her body bobbing with the ocean waves as everyone stared down from the deck of the ship. "The world will know my name!" With that, one of Uma's tentacles whipped out of the water and snapped in the air above the crowd's heads when they ducked down to avoid it.

Alia peaked up over the rail with the rest of the crowd only to lurch back again when Uma whipped another tentacle at them.

Someone bumped into Alia and she looked over to see that Mal had distanced herself from everyone else, her eyes an angry, piercing green and her nostrils flaring with something more than rage as she glared down at Uma. Uma merely smirked in return, laughing tauntingly at her.

"Mal?" Ben called uncertainly.

Mal looked at him, and a moment later she was concealed by a cloud of swirling purple smoke. Alia held her breath, unable to stop herself from taking a step back as an enormous purple dragon emerged from the smoke. It took flight to dozens of screams from the crowd, and blew a burst of flames at Uma, who merely dodged backward out of the way. She then retaliated by whipping her tentacle at Mal, who barely missed being hit by lurching back with a flap of her enormous wings.

"Come on, Mal!" Uma called. "Let's finish this once and for all!"

Mal dove toward the water, sending another blast of flames at Uma, who just leaned back into the water to dodge it. Mal looped back around in the air, and Uma once again tried to hit her with a tentacle, but Mal easily swooped out of the way.

Desperate to help instead of standing around and watching the fight, Alia looked around desperately for an idea. Her eyes landed briefly on the strings of lanterns decorating the ship above her head, but then her fingers brushed fabric on the railing and she looked down.

Seeing the blue and yellow fabric draped on the railings, Alia quickly fisted a piece and ripped at it with her hands until she was holding a good blanket-sized piece of the blue and yellow fabric.

Looking down into the water, Alia crumpled the fabric almost into a ball, aimed for Uma's head, and threw it with all her might.

The wind caught the balled up fabric, causing it to open slightly as it landed on Uma's head, hiding her face from view and making it impossible for her to see as Mal swooped in for another attack.

Uma struggled with the fabric for a moment, yanking on it to try and get it off her head, but her attempts were unsuccessful. Then, just as Mal shot another burst of flame at her, she ducked down below the surface of the water. The flames hit the water and fizzled out in a cloud of smoke.

Alia grasped the railing as the crowd hurriedly returned to the side of the boat to watch the continued fight. Then, Uma's head shot from the water, her arms sending a wave of water crashing into the ship. The impact sent the ship rocking in the water, causing everyone to stumble and nearly fall. Everyone was clinging to someone to keep themselves and their friends upright. Alia found herself holding onto Carlos and Shang's jackets.

Mal roared at Uma again, looking ready to strike again. Ben, who had stumbled back to the railing, suddenly let out a loud roar. Alia watched in confusion and astonishment as Ben stormed back toward them, taking his crown off his head. He gave Carlos his crown and took off his suit jacket and handed it to Jay. Then, he ran back to the railing and took a flying leap over the edge.

Alia raced to the rail with everyone else, Ben's name echoing as everyone yelled for him. But their calls were useless. Ben had already disappeared into the dark water.

But then, he hadn't. Ben popped back up again, this time in the space between Mal and Uma. He yelled for them to stop fighting, which just caused Uma to laugh at him. Because honestly, what could he do to stop her, given he was the size of a beetle compared to her? But he didn't give up. He went on about how fighting wasn't the answer, and that they needed to listen and respect each other.

He seemed to at least be getting through to the two girls, because Uma didn't mock or laugh at him. Her and Mal were just staring cautiously at each other, as if hesitant to be the one to call a truce.

"Uma, I know you want what is best for the Isle." Ben yelled to her over the waves. "Help me make a difference." he begged, holding a hand out toward her.

There was several seconds of tense silence, broken only by Mal snarling at Uma. Alia and everyone on the ship waited anxiously. When one of Uma's tentacles lifted slowly from the water, Alia gripped the fabric on the railing in front of her, prepared to rip off another piece even though she doubted it would do a lot of good.

Uma's tentacle lifted from the water, the end curled up. Mal growled warningly, causing Uma to pause and eye her rival warily. Then stretched her tentacle out toward Ben's open hand. Alia narrowed her eyes, trying to see what was happening. Uma appeared to drop something into Ben's hand, something that glinted in the moonlight. Then, she retracted her tentacle and it disappeared below the water.

Uma gave a small, teary smile to Ben before turning away and disappearing below the surface of the water.

"Is that it?" Alia asked quietly, looking over at Jay, Lonnie, and Shang. "It's over? She just left?"

Shang shrugged. "I guess so."

The crowd threw a rope ladder down for Ben to climb up and helped him back onto the ship. Carlos gave him his crown back as everyone congratulated him on his success. As they moved back to the middle of the boat, a loud flapping of wings drew everyone's attention to the other end of the boat.

Everyone watched in amazement as Mal lowered herself onto the raised part of the boat's deck right in front of Ben's stained glass portrait. Her wings folded up and purple smoke surrounded her, hiding her completely from view. Then, it dissipated to reveal a human Mal, but looking very different than she had before the fight.

Standing right in front of the stained glass image of herself, Mal looked like the beautiful artwork personified. Frantically patting her new, dark purple dress to put out the smoke, Mal's curled, light purple hair hung in front of her face for a moment before she looked up at the crowd staring at her. She was wearing a gold tiara atop her head, long, purple fingerless gloves, and her gown was long and ruffled with a dark green belt just like the image behind her.

When she saw Ben smiling at her, she returned it with a beaming smile of her own that Alia hadn't really seen on her in ages. Then, she lifted her gown in both hands and teasingly curtsied, which Ben responded to with a low bow.

When Mal straightened up again, two men helped her down the stairs to loud applause from the rest of the guests. Evie met her at the bottom, and even had to blow out another plume of smoke that appeared around Mal's hip. Then, the two best friends held hands and closed the distance between themselves and where Ben stood in the center of the crowd.

When Mal stopped in front of him, she was grinning up at him. That is, until he suddenly pulled her into him and kissed her.

Alia was not the only one grinning in amusement when she glanced around. Shang rolled his eyes, but he was also grinning. Carlos had to grab Ben's shoulder to pull him away from Mal, much to everyone's amusement.

"I owe you guys so much." Ben told them, looking around particularly at Carlos, Jay, and Evie.

"Yeah." Evie agreed, her eyebrows raised.

"You got that right." Carlos laughed, clapping both hands on Ben's shoulders and causing the crowd to laugh.

"Just a little bit." Evie added jokingly over the laughter. Alia laughed with them, exchanging a grin with Jay.

"Well, if there's anything you need, or anything I can do for you-"

"Um," Evie raised her hand, for once looking a little unsure of herself. Alia watched curiously, wondering what Evie could possibly ask for. "Actually, there is, Ben. Um," Evie paused and looked out past everyone on the boat. Alia turned and followed her gaze and found herself staring out over the ocean at the Isle of the Lost. "I know a girl who would really love to come to Auradon." she explained, causing many people to glance toward the Isle. "It's Drizella's daughter, Dizzy. She's like a little sister to me."

"Then she should come." Ben answered simply, surprising Alia.

Evie clearly felt the same way. Her beaming smile was one of shock for a second before she laughed slightly, "Okay. Okay, great."

Alia grinned, looking past Ben toward Lonnie and Jay. She met Jay's eyes and they shared a smile. He was just as happy as Evie was.

Ben and Mal met eyes again, but then Evie stepped between them.

"Actually, um," she paused as everyone laughed, Mal's hands raised in surprise. She smiled sheepishly before continuing, "Ben, there's a lot of kids who would really love it here in Auradon. Kids just like us who also deserve a second chance. Can I maybe get you…a list?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes." Ben answered immediately, starting to smile. "Yes, absolutely. Please."

Alia cheered and applauded with the rest of the crowd. She couldn't help remembering the two little boys who'd stolen Evie's wallet while they were on the Isle and hoped that many children like them were given a chance at a better life.

That moment, however, was put on pause when a royal servant stepped forward.

"Lady Mal, we found your spell book below deck. Uma had it." he explained, passing the book into Mal's hands.

Mal stared down at the worn book in her hands, looking hesitant. Alia glanced over at Ben and saw that he was no longer smiling. He was staring tensely at Mal's expressions, waiting for her decision.

Thankfully, after only a few moments, Mal decided that her spell book belonged with Fairy Godmother in the Museum, which Fairy Godmother agreed to. Alia couldn't help smiling when Mal announced that she wouldn't be needing it anymore. It was a step in the right direction; in the young woman finally feeling like she could be herself.

Mal then turned the moment into a playful one by kicking some of the water covering the deck at Ben, making the crowd 'oh' playfully. Ben retaliated by doing the same, causing everyone to laugh.

Alia moved around the couple until she reached her brother. She propped her elbow up on his shoulder, making him grin at her.

"So, with all that drama out of the way, think things will get too boring around here for you?" she asked teasingly.

"As if." Jay smirked. "I've gotta get you and Lonnie in shape for our first match next week."

Alia gaped in mock offence, moving her arm to swat the back of his head. Jay ducked, laughing at her as the crowd began to break up, the music coming back on as the party restarted.

"So, I had an idea." Alia started slowly, her tone going serious. Jay looked at her, his expression both curious and concerned.

"Yeah? What about?" he asked.

"Well,…obviously, Ben and Evie's idea to get kids off the Isle is a perfect idea." Alia began. "But what about the people who can't come over here? At least for a while? I feel like we should help them somehow, at least until they can come to Auradon."

"And how were you thinking?" Jay asked curiously, a small smile starting to spread over his face.

"Well,…I had a few ideas." Alia admitted as they headed toward the food and drinks table across the boat. "Like, maybe we could take donations. There are plenty of people in Auradon who have enough money and second-hand things, or even new things they could donate to be sent to the Isle, instead of only sending garbage there. Especially people at Auradon Prep who've gotten to know you, Mal, and the others."

Jay nodded slowly. "That's a pretty good idea." he agreed. "We could mention it to Ben tomorrow or something."

Alia grinned widely. "Good. Another idea, maybe we could start a garden or farm or something, where we could grow food and produce specifically to be shipped to the Isle, so they don't just have rotten food. People could volunteer, or we can talk to a teacher about doing it for a class project."

Jay nodded, grinning just as widely. "Or we could have one of the sports teams, like tourney or Swords and Shields, do it. Volunteer work or teambuilding."

Alia nodded eagerly. "Exactly. We should suggest that to Ben or Fairy Godmother."

Jay tossed an arm over her shoulder, pulling Alia into his side in a short hug. "Thanks, Sis."

 **XXX**

 **Let me know what you all thought! One more chapter to go!**


	17. Chapter 17

Alia laughed, her feet kicking up the water as she danced to the loud music playing on the stereo. Her dress was drenched and her long, braided hair was wet and stuck to her skin, but she didn't care. Her arm was over Lonnie's shoulders, and Lonnie's arm was over hers and Jane's, whose arms were over Lonnie and Evie's so that they were all dancing in a row.

With Uma no longer a threat, as far as they could tell, the party had resumed full blast. Music was blasting and everyone was dancing and goofing off in the water. Even a lot of the adults standing on the stairs and platforms were dancing in place. Mal and Ben were standing up at the very top, watching their friends and being adorably loveable to each other.

When the song changed, Alia released her friends to dance with other people and headed toward the tables of food and drinks off to the side of the stairs. She picked up a glass and scooped some punch into it. She then turned to watch the rest of the party, holding her glass of punch in both hands. She laughed when she saw Jay dump water on Carlos's head, who then retaliated by kicking water at his best friend.

"Definitely more entertaining than most dances I've been to." Shang announced, coming to stand next to Alia to watch everyone having a good time.

"You mean most parties you've attended haven't been crashed by a vengeful villain, who left the party half-flooded, which turned the party into a water party?" Alia asked playfully.

Shang smirked. "I wish." he joked. "Oh, and I forgot to tell you something when I picked you up." Alia turned and looked up at him expectantly. He smiled. "You look beautiful."

Alia tried not to smile and turned to look down at her feet, knowing she was probably blushing. She had to hand it to him; he was very charming. Looking back up at him again, she said, "Thank you. You look handsome yourself."

"Thank you." They were quiet for a few moments when Shang suddenly kicked his foot to the side, sending a small wave over Alia's feet, legs, and dress.

"Hey!" she laughed, returning the favor with a splash aimed at him. She then bumped her arm into his, leaning against him instead of pulling away afterwards. Shang didn't seem to mind, putting his hand on the table behind them so she could lean back against his arm.

"When you're done with your drink, you wanna get back on the dance floor with me?" Shang asked lightly, grinning down at her.

Alia smiled. "I think I could do that." she agreed, taking a sip of her punch. Her eyes landed on Jay, who was dancing and goofing off with Evie and Lonnie, splashing them and spinning them around.

"And, maybe when the night's all over, you wanna go on a date or something sometime? Maybe next weekend or something; you know, after our first match of the season."

Alia grinned widely, both at the question, and the reminder of her spot on the Swords and Shields team. She still needed to call her parents and tell them the news, if they hadn't heard already.

Looking up at Shang, she searched his face as he waited patiently for her answer. Her eyes skimmed his chiseled and defined jaw line, his damp, black hair swept to the side, before finally meeting his narrow, dark brown eyes.

"I would love to." she answered with a smile. "We'll have to make it a celebration. You know, for when our team wins. Think your dad will hate me when we whoop his team's butts?" she asked teasingly.

Shang laughed. "He'd actually be pretty impressed. He likes you from the few times he's met you, and I'm sure he'd look forward to a fair match, you against one of his best swordsmen."

"Even if I make them look bad?" Alia teased.

Shang chuckled. " _Especially_ if you make them look bad."

Alia grinned, leaning against his side as they went back to watching everyone have a good time. Alia had a wide smile on her face as she thought about her future.

She had a great group of friends who she could count on and who could count on her. Her and Lonnie had finally earned their spots on the Swords and Shields team and would work their butts off to prove that they could be just as good as the guys on the team. She had a family that loved her; her parents were caring and supportive, her grandfather and Genie were people she could talk to about anything, Abu, Carpet, and her tiger Raisa were her own little support system, and of course there was Jay. She could rely on Jay; they were a team, and in the future they would be ruling Agrabah side-by-side.

And now, she had Li'l Shang. Technically, she'd always had Shang. She'd known him about as long as she'd known Lonnie. He'd taught her nearly everything she knew about sword fighting. He respected her for herself and treated her as such. He saw her as an equal. What had popped into her head earlier was true. She didn't need a boyfriend, and she wasn't in love with Shang. But she could definitely see herself loving him in the future, and he felt the same, if his actions lately was anything to go by.

With all the drama from the past few days finally over, everything was looking up. The future was looking very bright.

 **XXX**

 **Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed this story and the first one! I'm glad so many people enjoyed it!**

 **Sadly, as of right now, this story is complete. I can't think of any really good ideas for a third one and I don't want to ruin these with a horrible third book. But you never know. I might be inspired, maybe by Descendants 3 when it comes out.**

 **Thank you again!**


	18. Sequel!

Well, this is what you've all probably been waiting for!

I know several people asked for a sequel if I was so inspired by Descendants 3. It took a while to get an idea, and it's probably not what you all would have expected for a sequel. I honestly couldn't come up with a good sequel idea that would take place during Descendants 3, but then an idea struck after like the fourth time watching the movie, plus I was inspired by an idea someone gave me in a private message a while back. So, Stolen Half 3 will actually take place after Descendants 3. By the time you've read this note, I'll probably have uploaded the first chapter. Below is a brief summary:

 _ **Stolen Half 3: Family of Thieves**_

 _Summer has ended, and with it a new chapter has begun for Alia, Jay, and all their friends. Everyone is figuring out what to do with their lives, and for Alia, like many others her age, that includes going to college. But it seems Mal's idea of bringing down the barrier around the Isle of the Lost, while brilliant, has opened up a whole new set of dangers. How will this affect Alia, who is already struggling with everything life is throwing at her?_

 _(Set after Descendants 3)_

Sound interesting? I hope so! Go check it out and let me know! I hope you all like it!


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